Born Enemies
by Violet2389
Summary: When Paul imprints on a vampire, chaos will ensue. OC
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This story takes place around the end of Eclipse to the beginning of Breaking Dawn. It's my own vampire character and Paul. Hope you all enjoy. **

**Chapter 1: First Encounter**

I was running through the forest, using my nose to lead me. I hadn't fed in weeks, and the burning in my throat was beginning to get unbearable. I don't know why I had waited so long to feed; normally I would feed every few days, just to keep myself from getting too far gone into the need. I stood in a clearing, and took a deep breath. I needed to clear my head, and concentrate on the air around me.

I could smell the grass, the trees, a squirrel that definitely wouldn't do the trick, water, and then by the water…was that…? I took a deeper breath. Yes, a herd of deer. I shot off in that direction, and didn't hesitate before taking down two of them. I snapped both of their necks, and drained them of all their blood.

The burning in my throat had subsided and I smiled to myself. That was a good feed. I was unsure of where I was, but it was drizzling rain. Last I had checked I had been in the southest part of Vancouver, and then I had run off, needing to feed. I hadn't encountered anything until I had ended up here. I put my bag on the ground, sat on the bank of the river, and looked around.

I tensed; off in the distance I heard something. It sounded as though someone was coming. And then the smell hit me. It smelled like wet dog, and it smelled absolutely disgusting.

I sprang up off the ground, and turned to where the sound and scent was coming from, immediately on guard. Through the trees, I could see two eyes stalking towards me. As it came closer, I realized that it was a giant wolf. Its fur was the darkest of blacks, and it was huge. Its teeth were bared at me, just as I assume mine were as well. Behind the wolf, two more appeared, one a dark brown colour, and the other grey.

A low growl erupted from the black one, and I snarled at it in return. All of a sudden the black wolf changed…and within seconds a man stood in front of me. One second he had been a wolf, and the next he was a man. He had jet black hair, and looked as if he was from native descent, by the colour of his skin.

"You have broken the treaty." He said angrily. "You are waging a war."

"Treaty?" I asked in confusion. "I'm not a part of any treaty."

Surprise flitted across his face. "You are not part of the Cullen clan?"

"No." I said. "I don't know who the Cullens even are."

The other two wolves also changed into men, and flanked the first guy. The three of them all looked similar, as if they were related somehow.

"What should we do with her?" the one who had had the dark brown fur asked. I cocked an eyebrow at him. What should they _do _with me?

The one who had had the grey fur swiftly spoke in another language to the other two. Through the whole thing he hadn't taken his eyes off of me, but I knew he wasn't talking to me. The one who had had the black fur looked surprised, while the one who had had the brown fur looked distressed.

"You can't do anything to her, Sam." The one who had had the grey fur said to the one who had had the black fur. "You can't hurt her."

"What do you think of all this, Jared?" Sam asked the one who had had the dark brown fur.

Jared shrugged. "He can't help it. You know how it feels, Sam."

"I do know how it feels, but has it ever happened this way?" Sam demanded. "Her kind is the enemy. This isn't right. Is it even following the laws? Are there any laws against this?"

The other two didn't say anything. They seemed to be as unsure as Sam was.

From behind me I could smell another vampire, or were there more than one? I turned to see a tiny girl with short, jet black hair that spiked out at the ends, standing with a tall, blonde guy. They looked at the scene ahead of them.

"Do we have permission to come talk across the border?" the girl asked in a high pitched voice. I turned to look at Sam, and he nodded. The two vampires came over and stood to my right.

"What's going on here?" she asked.

"You tell us." Sam said. "We found this girl hunting on _our_ land. We thought she was with you."

The girl turned to me. "What's your name?"

"Harley." I said.

"Where did you come from?" she asked.

I let out a laugh. "Recently or originally?"

"Both." The guy who had had the grey fur said, I still didn't know his name.

"Well, I grew up in South Carolina, but recently I've been in Canada…trying to keep a low profile, and I needed to hunt, so I ran until I got here." I said. "I didn't know there was a treaty here. If I had I would've respected it, even though I'm not part of it."

"It wouldn't apply to you anyway." Sam said. "You aren't part of the Cullen clan. You have permission to come into La Push as you please."

I stared at all of them. "I never intended on staying here."

The guy had been the grey wolf turned and stared at me, but I didn't look at him for too long.

The dark haired vampire turned to me. "Since you seem to have been leaving Canada, you're more than welcome to stay with us. You have the same lifestyle as us, and we have a lot of extra room. There are five more of us, soon to be six more. None of us would mind, I promise."

"Well, I guess I could, if it really wouldn't be any trouble…I don't want to be a burden." I said.

She clapped her hands together and turned to the blonde guy. "Esme will be so excited!"

"Esme?" I asked.

"You'll learn soon enough." The guy said with a slight southern drawl. "I'm Jasper, and this is Alice."

"Nice to meet you two." I said.

"Does this mean she's part of the treaty?" the guy who's name I still didn't know asked.

"No…she can't be…it wouldn't…work." Sam said. "She may be staying with the Cullens, but technically wouldn't be a part of their clan, unless she takes up a permanent residence with them. And it wouldn't be good for you."

What he was saying made no sense to me. What wouldn't work? Why wouldn't it be good for him?

I was confused and I didn't like it.

"Do you want to head over to our house?" Alice asked me. "We'll introduce you to everyone there."

"Alright." I said.

"Wait…" the guy whose name I didn't know said.

I turned and looked at him. He didn't say anything, just stared at me.

"Alright, can somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?" I demanded. "Who is this guy, and why is he staring at me like this?"

Sam took a deep breath. "Are you going to tell her or should I?"

The guy looked away from me, but kept his mouth shut.

"His name is Paul." Sam said. "And he's imprinted on you."


	2. Chapter 2: Family

**Chapter 2: Family**

"Imprinting?" I asked. "What the hell is imprinting?"

"This isn't good." Jared said. "This _really_ isn't good."

"I can't help it!" Paul said.

"I know you can't!" Jared snapped. "But you've imprinted on the enemy, Paul! Do you not realize that?"

"Of course I realize it!" Paul snapped. "Do you think I chose this?" I saw a tremor roll through him. "You know exactly how it feels because you have it with Kim! Do any of us ever judge you for it? And Sam's imprinted on Emily, his ex-girlfriend's _cousin. _How come no one ever got this angry with him about it?"

"Paul, enough." Sam growled. "Jared, back off. You know exactly what it's like. Don't harass him for this. It's beyond his control, and you know it as well as I do."

"But it's _wrong._"

"So are we." Alice said. "All of us standing here are 'wrong'. Werewolves and vampires shouldn't exist, it's against nature. Yet, we're all standing here now."

"We come from a long line of ancestors. This happened naturally, not from being bitten." Jared shot back.

"We had to start off somewhere." Jasper said with a shrug. "Who knows how the first vampire was created."

"Yeah but you guys are dead. Our hearts are still beating." Jared snapped.

"Can somebody _please _explain to me what imprinting is?" I demanded. I didn't want them getting into more of an argument over which species 'should be here'.

They all turned and looked at me, and nobody said a word.

"Why don't we let Paul explain that?" Sam said.

Jared turned and went behind a tree, and threw Paul a pair of shorts. Paul put them on right away, and looked at me again.

"Harley, do you have a phone?" Alice asked. I nodded, and took it out of my pocket and handed it to her.

"I put my number in, so when you're ready just call me and we'll come help you get to the house." She said.

"Alright." I said.

Everyone except Paul and me left the clearing.

"So…um…imprinting?" I asked.

He took a deep breath and sat on the ground. "You're probably going to think I'm insane when I tell you this. Hell, I even think I'm insane just feeling it."

I sat down on the ground beside him. "I've seen some pretty crazy stuff in my life. I think I can handle this."

"Well," he cleared his throat. "Imprinting is this thing that happens to us. We see someone and it's like they're holding our world together. Like nothing happens to that person or we end up going crazy. It's a love at first sight type of thing…you feel like it's your duty to protect that person with everything you have, and that you'd do absolutely anything for that person…it's such a strong connection that you literally know when something's wrong with them…you know that they're hurt…you know that you have to be there for them. No matter what."

"And you've…you've imprinted on me?" I asked.

He nodded and looked at me. "You think I'm insane, don't you?"

"Not entirely." I said truthfully. "It's something natural that just happens to you guys, you can't really help it."

He smiled. "It really means a lot that you said that to me."

"I can tell." I said quietly.

He took a deep breath. "So what are we going to do?"

"We'll figure something out." I said. "I'm not attracted to you right now...but I just met you. We can…I guess spend time together, and see where it goes from there? I…I don't want to rush into things…it's just…it's sudden, you know? I wasn't expecting this when I came here…I wasn't even expecting a new home…it's kind of hard to wrap my head around." In this moment talking to Paul, I felt oddly human. I hadn't felt this way in a really long time…it intimidated me that Paul could bring these feelings to the surface.

He nodded. "I understand that…I just…I don't want you to feel obligated to go into anything…I don't want you to think that I'm pressuring you."

"You aren't." assured him.

"Just know that no matter what happens between us…whether we go into a relationship or not, I'll always be here to help you out…I'll always be here for you."

"Thank you." I said. "I…um…I should probably go to the Cullens' place. I need to get settled."

"I'll see you later." He said.

"Bye Paul." I said. He stood up, and pulled me up to my feet along with him. He pulled me into a quick hug and jogged off into the forest.

I took a deep, unneeded breath before pulling my phone out of my pocket and calling Alice's number. I told Alice that I was ready to go meet everyone, and within seconds of us hanging up she was in the clearing with me, grinning.

"Everyone's really excited to meet you." She said.

I smiled. "I am too…kind of nervous, though."

"Don't worry, we're all very nice. But, just to warn you, we have a human who will soon be a vampire...she won't be there today, but is your self-control good?"

"I've never had a problem. Never tasted human blood in my life." I said. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Good." She said, smile still lighting her face. "You ready?"

"Yup." I said, and we ran off together. We stopped in front of a _huge _house. The outside was three stories tall, rectangular, and painted a soft white colour.

"Whoa." I whispered.

Alice turned and grinned at me. "Surprised?"

"A bit." I admitted. "For the past few decades of only really lived in apartments…this is…this is huge."

Alice grasped my arm and led me inside. As we walked in the front door I was greeted by six other vampires. There was a beautiful blonde woman, whose hair gracefully floated around her shoulders and back in gentle waves. Beside her was a burly guy who looked as though he was a body builder who had curly dark brown hair. To the left of him was another guy who had bronze coloured hair. Beside him was a woman with a very kind face, very soft features, and dark hair tumbling down her back in soft curls. Beside her was a man with blonde hair. And then beside them was Jasper.

I could almost match the couples together, just from the way they were standing together. The beautiful blonde woman and the big, burly guy were obviously a couple. The kind-looking woman was obviously with the blonde guy. The guy with the bronze coloured hair wasn't standing with anyone in particular, but I could guess that whoever he was with would be the new member of the family. And, of course, Alice and Jasper were obviously a couple.

I soon learned that the beautiful blonde's name was Rosalie, the burly guy's name was Emmett, the bronze coloured hair guy's name was Edward, the blonde man was Carlisle, and the kind looking woman was Esme.

It wasn't hard to see the Carlisle and Esme were the "parents" of the house, and all the rest were the "children". Just from the way they interacted, it was easy to see that the Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett and Edward all had a lot of respect for Carlisle and Esme.

"Before we go any further, I think we should all share some things about ourselves." Esme suggested. "Just to make Harley more comfortable here and to get to know her a bit more as well."

"How about each of us tell our stories…where we came from, our powers, all that." Carlisle said. "Who wants to go first?"

"I will." Alice said in her tinkling voice. "Since I just recently found out about it…in my human life, I always got these visions of the future; my whole family thought that I was absolutely insane. So they sent me away, to an insane asylum. I thought that I was going to die there, but there was a kind man who worked there. He got me out of there and turned me, because I was being chased by a tracker. The flashes of the future didn't end when I was turned…they only became stronger and clearer."

As we went through the group, I found out about everyone. Jasper had been in the civil war, when a beautiful woman came to him one day, and turned him, then she enlisted in his help to create a newborn army; he could feel other's emotions and make them feel different emotions. Rosalie had been set to marry the man of her dreams, but one night he raped her, leaving her next to dead in the street, but Carlisle had found her and turned her; her power was her beauty. Emmett had thought he could take on a bear, but ended up getting mauled, and almost killed, until Rosalie found him and took him to Carlisle to turn him. Edward had been suffering from the Spanish Influenza, and just before he died, Carlisle turned him to save him; as Carlisle told me was his mother's wish. Edward's power was that he could read minds. Esme had attempted suicide after her baby died but Carlisle found her and turned her…and they became mates. Her power was simply her motherly instincts.

But, it was Carlisle's story that sent a chill through my body. He had been the preacher's son, and was hunting vampires. He found some, and was following them, but one turned around and bit him. He crawled away, and hid…three days later he was a vampire. Soon after he had been turned, he got involved with the Volturi, the vampire police. When he was speaking about the Volturi, I couldn't help but bare my teeth slightly at the mere mention of them.

I listened to the end of Carlisle's story, but I could sense that the entire family could feel my anger at the Volturi. Especially Edward and Jasper…Edward probably already knew what I was going to say, he could just hear it, and Jasper could feel what I felt toward the Volturi.

As Carlisle finished off, telling about how he just wanted to save people, and that was what helped him with his self-control, I knew it was my turn to share my story.

"Well, as Alice and Jasper already know, I grew up in South Carolina. When I was little I had always felt this…connection to the dead. Like, I could sense another presence in the room, or sometimes I could see a shadow or even an outline of a person. I could even talk to the dead sometimes. I remember when my grandmother passed away…I could still speak with her…I saw her a few times. I think that was the first incident. My parents thought I was absolutely insane, but just took it as a coping method. As I got older, I learned to keep my mouth shut about my…conversations. But, one time, when I was seventeen, my boyfriend at the time's mother had passed away years before I had met him…little did I know he was a vampire. So one day I was hanging out with him, and I felt his mother was with us. She wanted me to let him know that she loved him…but I didn't know how to tell him without having him think I was crazy. She kept urging me to just tell him, so I flat out told him that his mother still loved him. He got angry and turned me." I took a deep breath, thinking back. "When I woke up he was gone, and I promised myself to never feed on humans. I moved through countries, and ended up in Italy. The Volturi found me and…captured me. They offered to let me join them, but I declined. This angered them and they…they starved me. They wouldn't let me feed for months. They were so angry that I had refused their offer that they told me that they wanted a good reason to kill me. When they let me go into the public, I would cause a bloodbath and they would be "forced" to kill me for disrupting the city and letting the secret out. When they _did _end up releasing me, I just ran. I only thought about getting out of Italy, and finding an _animal _to feed on. I got out of Italy and fed, and haven't been back since. Since then, though, I've had many close encounters with the Volturi. Aro has sent Demetri, Jane, and Alec after me numerous times, but I've always managed to escape. I really don't know how, since it's next to impossible to escape from Demetri, but obviously Jane doesn't want me a part of the Volturi that badly."

"Do you still have your power?" Alice asked softly. "The power to communicate with the dead?"

"Yes." I said. "Before it would happen at random, but now I can summon them…if I concentrate hard enough on a picture or description, or even a name, I can communicate with anybody. Sometimes it still happens at random, but I can control it."

The entire family was silent. And I had a feeling I knew exactly what they were all thinking. _Could she do that for me?_

It always made me feel weird when someone asked me to do it for them. When I was living alone and needed money, I opened up a psychic shop, and communicated with clients' dead family members. I'm sure most of them thought it was a hoax, but just wanted that glimmer of hope to be able to know that their mothers, fathers, brothers, sons, daughters, wives, husbands…even young children were okay. I had gotten used to it by now, and if anyone here asked me to do it for them, I definitely would.

"That's quite a story." Carlisle said. "The Volturi are hard to deal with at the best of times, their rules can be very unfair, as well as their punishments. For them to starve you though…that is beyond cruel."

"I know." I said. "I didn't even know why they wanted me so badly…I realize my power is great, but it's not as amazing as Aro's."

"Aro wants both Edward and me." Alice said. "With you joining us it will anger him further, now that we know how much he wants you."

"I can leave." I said. "I don't want anything to happen to any of you."

"No." Esme said immediately. "It'll be easier for him to get you if you're alone. The more people we have, the better it is…especially with what's coming."

I looked around at the group. "What's coming?"

"We think someone is creating a newborn army." Alice said. "We don't know who's behind it, but it's big. Have you heard about the weird killings in Seattle?" I shook my head. "Well over the course of the past couple weeks there have been random killings in Seattle. Someone goes out at night, doesn't come home, and is found the next day, dead. The attacks are messy, though. Messy enough to be deemed animal attacks. We know its vampires though, and they're getting closer."

"We know what they want, too." Edward said. "They want Bella."

"Bella?" I asked.

"Edward's girlfriend…the Volturi also want her turned, soon enough she'll be part of the family." Rosalie said, slight scowl on her face.

"Why do they want her?" I asked. "The newborn army, I mean."

"We don't know, but a vampire was in her bedroom a few days ago. He took a sweater of hers." Edward said.

"To get her scent." I said, easily putting the pieces together.

"Exactly." Emmett said. "And when they come, we'll rip them apart."

"So there's going to be a huge fight?" I asked. "To protect a human girl?"

"Yup." Edward said.

"Why not just turn her and then she'll be fine?" I asked.

"Because they need to be killed regardless for doing what they've been doing. And Edward's stubborn." Alice said.

"Oh." I said.

"Tomorrow night is our graduation party." Alice said. "You should come."

"But I'm not graduating." I said, obviously stating the obvious.

"That doesn't matter." She said with a grin. "You can still come and have fun. It'll confuse all the guests because no one will know who you are. It'll be fun!"

"Alright." I said.

I looked around at my new family. How could I have gone from being alone for years to having a whole family within just a few hours? It was absolutely insane.


	3. Chapter 3: Belonging

Chapter 3: Belonging

It was still strange, adapting to the fact that I was part of a family now. And that after all these years I had a…what was Paul to me? He had said he had imprinted on me, but we weren't in a relationship…at least not yet.

"Hey Harley, are you coming to the party tonight?" Rosalie asked.

"I don't think so." I said. "I don't know if Alice will let me out of the house, though."

"Well, just to warn you, right now she isn't home, so if you're going to make your escape, I'd do it now, before she gets home and forces you to stay for the party. Where do you think Emmett and I are going?"

"Thanks for the tip." I said. "I guess I should probably spend some time with Paul."

She made a face. It was clear that the vampires and wolves didn't get along. I waved goodbye to her and slipped out of the house, and made my way to La Push. Once there, I realized I had no idea where to go. I didn't know where Paul lived...I didn't know where anyone lived.

It was raining, not pouring but there was a light drizzle. I looked around, biting my lip. Where the hell could I go?

"Harley?" called a voice from behind me. I turned to see Paul jogging towards me.

"Hey." I said, smiling at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked once he was in front of me.

"I came to see you, actually." I said. "I figured I might as well spend some time with you…and I wanted to get out of the house before the Cullens' big grad party tonight."

He chuckled. "I can see why. Come on, we can go to my apartment."

I followed him through the streets of La Push until we ended up at what must have been his apartment building. He led me inside and up to his apartment. When we were inside I looked around. This was so much smaller and simpler than the Cullens' house; it was much more in my comfort zone. _This _was what I was used to. _This _was what I liked better.

He laughed. "I know, it isn't much."

"Trust me; it's perfectly fine with me." I said with a laugh. "Much more in my element."

"I'm glad." He said with a smile.

An awkward silence fell over us. What was I supposed to say to him? I bit my lip, unsure of what to do.

"I wish I could do this right." He said with a short laugh.

"Right?" I repeated.

"You know, normally a guy would take a girl out to dinner to get to know her. That type of thing." He said.

I laughed. "We can just chill."

He smiled at me and I went and sat on his couch. He sat in the chair beside the couch.

"So, um, you live here by yourself?" I asked.

"Yup." He said. "I moved out of my parents' place the day I turned eighteen. It was getting too difficult to explain where I was going every night. Neither of them understood it and thought I should be locked up…even though my dad's the one who passed along the gene to me. I guess he didn't want me to have to go through what he had had to go through, so he just kept denying the fact that I was going through it too. My mom had heard the stories, but never imagined they were true. And my dad refused to take my side on it."

"That's horrible." I said. "He could have at least been understanding about it. Especially since he knew what it was like."

He shrugged. "I visit them once in a while, but not very often. They always look at me like I'm crazy."

"I know the feeling." I said. "I know what it's like to have your parents think you're crazy. It sucks."

"Did that happen to you?" he asked softly.

I nodded and looked away from him.

"You can talk to me about it." he said, getting up and sitting on the couch next to me.

"You know how some vampires have powers?" I asked. He nodded so I continued. "Well, I do too. I can um; I can speak with the dead. I can hear them, sometimes even see them…when I was little my parents thought I was absolutely insane…then I learned to shut my mouth about it."

"That's a power that a lot of people would want." He said. "Being able to speak to loved ones who have passed away."

"I guess…it's scary sometimes, though." I said. "Sometimes they just come to me…they just want someone to talk to sometimes…it still frightens me, though."

He put his arm around my shoulders and held me close to him.

"It'd be scary for anyone." He said. "I really don't blame you for it frightening you."

"I don't normally like talking to people about it." I said softly. "I haven't really _talked_ to anyone in a while, who I could actually open up to about this."

"You can talk to me about anything." He said.

I smiled and looked up at him. "That really means a lot."

"I can tell." He whispered.

I rested my head against his shoulder. It took me a moment to realize how _human _it felt to be doing that. What was it about him that he brought out these painfully human emotions? Why did he make me feel like a human and not a vampire?

"What's your secret?" I asked softly.

"What?" he asked.

"How do you do it?" I asked, looking up at him. He looked down at me, eyebrow raised, question in his eyes. "You…you make me feel human again."

He hesitated before saying anything else. "Is…is that a good thing?"

"I don't know yet." I said honestly. "I…I don't know…it almost feels more… real."

I looked up at him again, and our eyes locked together. I couldn't look away from him, no matter how badly I would've wanted to. No words were exchanged between us as he cupped my face in his hands, and leaned closer to me. With his eyes he questioned whether or not it was okay, and I gave him my silent approval. Our lips locked together, and I could feel the love he had for me in that kiss…and I knew exactly where I belonged.

I didn't belong in the big house on the river with the Cullens. I didn't belong in South Carolina, or Vancouver, or anywhere else I had lived.

No, I belonged right here. In Paul's arns.


	4. Chapter 4: Confused

Chapter 4: Confused

That night, I didn't want to leave Paul's apartment. I knew that I should probably get back to the Cullen house, but I didn't want to go. We were still curled together on his couch, and I hadn't said that I should go yet, I didn't want to.

But, I had to. I didn't live here, I lived with the Cullens.

"I should probably go." I said quietly.

"But you don't want to." He said softly. "I can tell."

I smiled in spite of myself. "You're right, I don't want to."

"So don't." he said. "Stay here."

"We just met." I reminded him.

He chuckled. "I don't mean for _that_. You can stay here tonight. Keep me company."

It was tempting, and I _really_ wanted to.

"You can keep me cold." He said, smiling at me. "I get overheated pretty quickly."

I snuggled closer to him. I really didn't want to go "home". I felt more at home here in Paul's apartment than I did at the Cullens' house.

"I just don't want them to worry about me." I said.

He laughed. "I'm sure they know you can take care of yourself…besides, they know how imprinting works and I could never hurt you, even if I wanted to. I would never be able to bring myself to do that to you, and I would die trying to protect you."

"Really?" I couldn't help but ask.

He nodded. "That's what imprinting does to you. It's only the wolf who gets affected though. Sometimes the imprint doesn't even care about him."

"Has that happened?" I asked.

"We thought it had." He said. "We thought Jared had imprinted on a girl, but he wouldn't tell us anything…it turned out he was just _really _into her, but she didn't feel the same about him. Because he was being so secretive about her, we thought he had imprinted and was hiding it."

"Has he imprinted on someone now, though?" I asked.

Paul nodded. "This girl, Kim, who's lived on the reservation for as long as I can remember."

"That's good then, at least he's found someone." I said.

Paul nodded. "We all have parent issues. It's hard for us to work around them, but Jared's parents were bad about it. Worse than mine; after he attempted to tell them, they wouldn't talk to him and kicked him out. He had been staying here for a bit, just until he could get on his feet again, now he's got his own apartment though."

"Do his parents talk to him?" I asked softly.

Paul shook his head. "No, the most he'll ever get out of them is a phone call, if he's lucky. I don't even think he tries anymore."

"I don't blame him." I said. "If it were me I wouldn't bother either. It'd just be more trouble to try."

Paul nodded. "It's hard, though. Not being able to talk to your parents."

I nodded too. "I know it is."

We sat together quietly. We both had parent issues that we didn't want to delve into at the moment.

I glanced up at Paul and saw just how tired he looked.

"You're tired." I said softly.

"Sam's got us working hard." He said. "He thinks that something's coming."

"Something _is _coming." I said, remembering what the Cullens had said about the newborns. "You should sleep…get some rest."

"Will you stay with me?" he asked. I could tell that he didn't want to let go of me. "I'm sorry…I just…I don't want you to go yet."

I smiled. "I'll stay with you."

Paul pulled me off the couch with him, and just as we were going into his room, there was a knock at the door. Paul groaned and looked wearily at the door. I cocked my head.

"I think it's the pack." I said.

"What the hell do they want?" he groaned. He went over to the door and opened it. "What?" he addressed Sam. I peered around Paul's shoulder and saw that Sam and Jared were there, as well as another guy who I didn't know. He was noticeably younger than the other three.

"There's something happening tonight." Sam said. "Training." He looked at me. "You're involved too. They're coming. In four days."

"Training?" I asked.

"Yes." Sam said. "To fight."

"Where?" I asked.

"This field near the Cullens' place."

"When?" Paul asked.

"Three o'clock. We'll see you then." He said, before Paul closed the door on him and I heard them walking down the hall.

Paul sighed. "Three o'clock."

"You could sleep until then." I said.

"Not worth it." he said. "If I go to sleep now, I'll never want to get up."

"I kind of miss that." I said. "I miss being able to stay in bed all, feeling nice and comfortable in the morning."

He chuckled. "I would too; sleeping is my favourite thing to do."

I rolled my eyes. "Why don't we go for a walk?"

"Are you sure? There's dangerous things in La Push." He said, teasing clear in his tone.

"I have my big bad wolf to protect me." I teased.

He laughed again and rolled his eyes as we left his apartment. I was glad we could joke around with each other. We were comfortable enough to tease each other…it was actually nice. I hadn't been able to joke around with anyone in years. I had barely spoken to anyone in years.

We roamed around La Push for a while. It was raining, which apparently wasn't strange for Forks, so I put my hood up over my head. I didn't want to look like a soaking wet cat by the time we met with the Cullens.

Until three o'clock we walked around, joking and laughing at each other. Again, it was nice to just be able to let loose. I couldn't even remember the last time I had actually let loose with someone. It was fun to be myself for once.

I was beginning to get used to this, I was glad I could be myself around Paul. At times I wasn't sure what to say to him, and I knew he wasn't always sure what he should say to me, but we never fell into an awkward silence. Even when we were sitting together in silence, or walking together in complete silence, it was never awkward.

Maybe this imprinting thing worked both ways. I had never felt for anyone else the way I felt towards Paul, and I had known him for just a couple days. When I had found out he had imprinted on me, I will admit that I was a bit freaked out, but I understood completely. Maybe I was so understanding to him because the imprint itself worked both ways. I was inexplicably pulled to him, and it confused me and scared me.

But, I was ready to take it head on.


	5. Chapter 5: Battle

**Chapter 5: Battle**

As it turned out, fight training wasn't so bad. I felt comfortable practising with the Cullens. Afterward it was weird having all the wolves sniff us all, but that was the only part that was strange. The next night we did the same thing, and I felt pretty ready for the battle ahead.

I was in Paul's apartment. As we had walked through the door, he collapsed onto the couch, pulling me down with him. I could tell he was dead tired.

"How hard is Sam working you guys?" I asked softly.

"More than necessary," he said, rubbing one of his eyes. "I try to sleep as much as I can, but it's hard. Maybe now with you in the picture it'll be easier, and he won't make me run as much."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He seems to be a bit easier on the guys with imprints," he explained. "He knows how it feels, and he knows that we don't want to be away from them."

That was understandable. Looking at his face, I could see exhaustion clearly. He was so exhausted; it made me feel as though he was staying awake just for me.

"Go to sleep," I said.

He shook his head. "I want to spend time with you."

"Paul, you're exhausted," I said. "I'll still be here when you wake up."

"Will you stay with me?" he asked softly.

I hadn't hunted since I first arrived in Forks, I felt like I should go and feed, but looking at Paul's face…I couldn't say no.

I nodded at him, and he smiled widely at me. He led me into his bedroom with him, and he collapsed on the bed, with me securely tucked in his arms.

Surprisingly, I was comfortable lying here, normally I found it very uncomfortable laying in a bed, but here in Paul's arms, it felt nice.

He woke up the next evening. And, I must say, he looked absolutely adorable when he was first waking up.

"Good sleep?" I asked.

He stretched and nodded. "Best sleep I've had in weeks."

I smiled. "I'm glad."

He rubbed his eyes and stretched again, and I watched him intently. It had been a long time since I had seen a human…correction-person just waking for the first time. It was interesting to say the least. The way sleep still hooded his eyes slightly, the way he had to stretch his arms to get his muscles working again.

He noticed me watching him, and gave me a question mark look.

I shook my head. "It's nothing. Don't worry. Is Sam making you run tonight?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea."

I could feel the burning in my throat slightly. Right now it was just a bit more intense than a small tingling feeling. I wanted to feed soon. I knew I wouldn't ever be able to drink from Paul-for personal reasons and the fact that his blood would make me sick-but when I went back to the Cullen house and Bella was there…I didn't want to risk it.

It isn't that I have a problem with self-control, not at all. It's that her blood smells absolutely _amazing_. The minute I met her, the burning in my throat increased immensely.

"Your eyes got darker," Paul noted. "Do you need to hunt?"

"Soon," I said. "But I don't want to leave."

"You should hunt," he said. "I know how bad it can get."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Trust me; it's been _way_ worse before. Aren't you hungry?"

"A bit," he said. "Not really."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't starve yourself."

"I don't want to move," he said.

I pulled him out of bed, and pushed him into the kitchen. I have to admit-I did have to use a bit of strength for that, and I struggled a bit…and Paul knew…and poked fun at me for it.

Later on, I reluctantly left Paul's apartment to go hunt. Afterwards, I went back to the Cullen house. Once there, I could feel how tense everyone was. As soon as I walked in, I wanted to leave right away.

"What's wrong?" I asked, question directed mostly at Alice.

"They're coming," she said. "Soon. Possibly in the next three days."

"Are we ready?" I asked.

She nodded. "Jacob Black will be taking Bella up to a campsite about ten miles away from the clearing where we're going to fight, where Edward will be waiting for them. We're going to split up into two groups and wait two miles from the clearing. Ten minutes after the first group begins to fight, the second group will jump in as well. They're going to split up too and we're going to jump in just after they do, taking them by surprise."

"Sounds easy enough," I said. "With our numbers as well as the wolves, I'm sure we'll be fine."

Sure enough, three days later, we were crouched in some grass, waiting to attack. I was with Alice, Rosalie and Emmett, and we were being flanked by five wolves. Paul was one of them. The other five were with Carlisle, Esme and Jasper. They were the group to attack first. We could hear the fighting happening, and soon enough, the second group of newborns joined the battle. We waited a whole two minutes before jumping in and fighting.

I must say, it wasn't difficult. Newborns had one thing; and one thing only, in mind. Blood. That was all they wanted. After I had taken down about five, one of them pinned me against the ground with his hand tight around my neck. I fought against him, and tried to break his hand that was clamped around my neck, but I couldn't. I tried everything I could to get him off of me, but I couldn't. He was too strong, and the position he had me in was too awkward for me to get a good hold on him.

All of a sudden he was off me. I looked to my side to see that Paul had jumped over us and got him off of me. I threw a thankful glance in his direction, and then went on to fight more.

The fight was over sooner than I had thought it would be. Jacob had gotten hurt, and Carlisle would be going over soon to examine him. Bella, for some reason, had passed out when she found out about Jacob. I helped Alice start a fire to burn the many pieces of dead vampire. I glanced over at Carlisle and Esme, who were talking to the young girl vampire who had surrendered. She was going to live with the Cullens for the time being, until she could completely adapt to our lifestyle.

Alice suddenly froze, face going blank.

"Alice?" I asked, shaking her shoulder slightly.

"It's okay," Jasper said. "Give her a few seconds, she's having a vision."

She blinked a few times, and came back into reality.

"They're coming," she whispered, looking in horror at me.

"Who?" I asked.

"The Volturi," she said.

"What?" I whispered. "No, they can't come…no, why are they coming?"

"To inspect," she said.

"Alice, I need to get away from here," I said. "I can't…they can't see me."

"You don't have time," she whispered. "They'll be here within five minutes. Even if you run off, they'll smell you. We'll protect you, don't worry."

Bella woke up, and then the Volturi approached. In my mind I hyped myself up and was ready to bolt if the need arose. I saw the four hooded figures approaching in the distance, and I held my breath.

"Hmmm," murmured Jane's dead, and obviously bored voice.

"Welcome, Jane," Edward said.

The four vampires who were here were Jane, Alec, Felix and Demetri. Demetri didn't take his eyes off me, and from here I could see the excitement dancing in his eyes, as if he was thinking, _I can get you this time_.

"Ahhhh, Harley, I see you've taken residence with the Cullens. Aro will be _so _interested to hear that." I didn't react to what she had said. I completely ignored what she said. I didn't want to think about that.

"And who is this?" Jane asked, motioning to the newborn who had surrendered.

"She surrendered. She will come live with us and adapt to our lifestyle," Carlisle said. "There's no need to hurt her."

Jane didn't respond to Carlisle, and set her eyes upon Bella. "Caius will be so interested to hear that you're still human, Bella. Perhaps he'll pay you a visit," her eyes moved to me again. "And perhaps Aro will pay _you _a visit."

"The date has been set for Bella's transformation," Alice interjected. "If Edward won't do it, I will. Perhaps _we'll _visit _you _in a few months."

Jane pursed her lips and her disgustingly sweet smile faded; but she never even took one glance at Alice.

"Felix, take care of _that_," she said, motioning to the newborn. "I want to go home."

Felix advanced on our group, and went straight for the newborn. For the entire time, Demetri's eyes stayed locked on mine…and I knew what he was thinking. I could tell that he was planning his method to try and take me. If Aro said the word, I didn't have a doubt in my mind that he'd come for me without a second thought.

The Volturi turned their backs on us, and disappeared into the forest.

I breathed a sigh of relief, they hadn't wanted to take me today, but I was sure that they would be back. Aro wanted my power for their guard…he had said he would stop at absolutely nothing to get me. It was a thought that scared me. I didn't want the Volturi trying to capture me. I didn't want to join them, and I didn't want to have anything to do with them. I would be perfectly happy living my life without their interference.


	6. Chapter 6: Love

**Chapter 6: Love**

The amount of relief I felt that the Volturi was gone was unbelievable. I had expected Felix to pounce on me as soon as Jane said the word. I was actually quite surprised Jane didn't say anything more to me. I was expecting her to be a complete and total bitch to me, but she wasn't too bad. My suspicions that she didn't truly want me part of the Volturi were growing stronger and stronger.

I actually liked that. That gave me a lot less to worry about. Paul, thankfully, hadn't gotten injured at all, but Jacob had. The entire right side of his body had shattered, but Carlisle was taking care of him.

Other than that, everyone was perfectly fine. The pack and I were all at Emily's house, they were celebrating.

To say that I felt out of place was an understatement.

Emily was a wonderful woman, and I could tell that she sincerely wanted me to be comfortable here, but being in a room full of wolves was just slightly out of my comfort zone. I had never had to interact with them in my life before meeting Paul…now to be in a room with ten of them was really making me anxious. I didn't know what to expect from them…I didn't know how their minds worked. I had no idea what was going to happen.

"Are you okay?" Paul asked.

"I'm fine," I said. "Just kind of out of my element."

He chuckled. "We can leave."

"No, don't leave just because of me," I said. "But I might head out soon, I think I should hunt."

"I'll walk you out," he said.

I waved goodbye to Emily, and followed Paul out of her small house. How everyone was able to comfortably fit into that house was completely above me.

"Are you going to come by tonight?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know…I should probably spend at least a little bit of time with the Cullens…since I'm pretty much living there."

He didn't approve-I could see it clearly on his face. But he didn't say anything about it. He kissed me on the cheek, and I left, in search of something to hunt.

Back at the Cullen house, I hung out with Rosalie. I really liked her, and got along with her well. She liked working on cars, so we were sitting outside in the garage together while she did some work on Emmett's jeep.

"She's throwing her away her life just for Edward," Rosalie seethed from underneath the car. She was ranting to me about Bella. "In enough time she'll realize the mistake she's making. I'm sure that most vampires would do absolutely _anything_ to get their human lives back. She has no idea what she's throwing away by doing this. I can't believe someone would be so idiotic."

"It's a mistake she'll never be able to take back," I said. "I don't think she really sees what it'll be like for her." Rosalie rolled out from under the car and grabbed a wrench, but paused before going back underneath.

"She'll get bored in a few decades, when she has to repeat her life over and over again, or when all her human friends and family members are dead." Rosalie said angrily. "If Carlisle had given me this choice all those years ago, I would have declined, especially if he had told me what it was really like."

"Bella is coming," I said, cocking my head and hearing Alice and Bella approaching.

"Great," Rosalie said, rolling her eyes and pushing herself back underneath the jeep.

Alice and Bella were bickering about the wedding. One thing I had learned about Alice was that she never did anything half-assed, and I could tell Bella didn't like a lot of attention put on her. When two people with such different personalities clashed in that sense, you could guarantee that at least one of them would come out of it unhappy. Finally, Bella agreed to let Alice do everything for the wedding, and Alice got the single most evil grin on her face that I had ever seen in my life.

Bella left, waving goodbye to the three of us-even though Rosalie hadn't acknowledged her presence by just remaining underneath the jeep for the entire time Bella had been in the garage. Rosalie rolled out from underneath the jeep and shot Alice an angry look.

"You couldn't just let her elope, could you?" she asked.

"Now what fun would that be?" Alice asked with excitement clear in her tone. "By the way, would you be able to play piano for it?"

Rosalie shot her an even angrier look and rolled back under the jeep, and I heard a lot of clanging going on underneath. Alice rolled her eyes and went back into the house.

"It's not that I'm against Bella as my sister, that really isn't it," she said. "There are two reasons that I don't like her-one you already know, and the other is quite shallow, I'll admit that. Before Carlisle turned me, every single man wanted me. I walked into a room and heads would turn. People were actually _jealous_ of my fiancé. Then, after he turned me, he figured that Edward and I would be a couple because he wanted Edward to have somebody. But he didn't want me. He didn't pay any attention to me-romantic wise-he just saw me as a sibling. He didn't _want_ me. And now, he's in love with just an ordinary human girl. I don't understand it, and I don't think I ever will."

She sighed and rolled out from underneath the jeep and looked at me. "I'm not as jealous now; it's more the fact that she's throwing her life away for him. It's commitment enough to agree to marry someone…but to turn into a vampire for someone? If my boyfriend asked me to do that…I don't think I could."

"I couldn't either." I said. "And I couldn't fathom asking Paul to do that for me…I know Edward doesn't exactly want her to, but if I felt obligated to like I'm sure she must, I wouldn't be comfortable."

"I wouldn't be either," she said.

It was weird; it was nice to be able to talk to another girl again. I had spent so many years alone, speaking to no one other than people who came in for "psychic readings", now I had numerous people who I could talk to. It was almost overwhelming. It was nice to be with people like me again. It had been so long since I had interacted with other vampires. It felt good…and also a little bit strange.

For the next few weeks I found harmony in my life with the Cullens and Paul. Yes, I was spending quite a lot more time with Paul than the Cullens, but they didn't seem to mind. I'm sure they understood. As the wedding approached, the Cullen house became more and more alive with activity. To be honest, I didn't_ really _want to go, but Rosalie wanted me there to keep her company. Paul wasn't going, but Seth Clearwater would be there. I absolutely loved Seth; he was the youngest one in the pack, and like a big teddy bear. He was the sweetest kid out there. The morning of the wedding, I was in the bathroom with Alice, Rosalie and Bella, helping pin back Bella's hair. Esme and Bella's mother came in, and Rosalie and I stepped out so that Bella's mother could have some privacy with her and so we could get ready.

Rosalie was wearing a long, shimmering, silver dress, and I was wearing a short dress that cut just above my knees that was black. Rosalie fastened her hair in an up-do on top of her head, and helped me with my own mahogany hair. We just put it in a simple, ponytail with lots of curls. Nothing too fancy for me.

I could tell that Bella was a nervous wreck. I can't say I blamed her. I would be too. Alice called us back to get us to help get Bella into her dress. I could tell that she could barely stand straight as Alice eased the dress over Bella's head as to not mess up her hair or make-up. Rosalie and I helped Alice fasten the buttons on the back of her dress. Both Bella's parents came in again, and Rosalie and I left again. It was time for Rosalie to go and play the piano. I went out to where the ceremony was being held and sat beside Seth.

"Paul is mad that he won't get to see you all dolled up," Seth whispered jokingly to me.

I smiled. "He could have come."

Seth shook his head. "Sam thinks that something is going to happen with Jake tonight."

"Jake's back?" I asked, surprised. Jacob had been gone for a couple weeks, not telling anyone where he had gone. It was putting a strain on the entire pack.

He nodded. "He arrived back this morning, he's probably gonna swing by at the reception…Sam has a feeling Jake's gonna do something that'll cause problems, so during the reception he's gonna have some of the guys patrolling around here. He told me to let the Cullens know."

"Did you?" I asked.

He nodded. "I told Carlisle."

I smiled again. "You're a sweetheart, Seth."

He chuckled. "Tell me something I don't know."

After that, we had to be quiet as the ceremony was starting. Lots of tears were shed from Bella as they said their "I do's". It was a beautiful ceremony and it went pretty quickly. It transitioned perfectly into the reception. As Seth had predicted, Jacob did in fact end up going to the reception, but he remained out of site. I could only hear parts of his conversation with Bella, and then I saw Edward dancing with Rosalie. I sat with Emmett. He was good to keep for company. He had a personality that would make anyone like him immediately.

Later on in the evening, Edward and Bella left for their honeymoon, and I helped the Cullens clean up after everyone had left. I recalled what Jacob had spoken to Bella about. It had been nagging in the back of my mind since I had first heard it. Jacob had been upset that Edward and Bella were having a _real _honeymoon. He didn't want Edward to crush her or bite her. That made me think-could I easily crush Paul just as Edward could crush Bella?

I knew that Paul was quite a lot stronger than an average human, but in a vulnerable state like that, would he be as strong? Vampires were cold and hard, like granite, at all times, regardless of the situation. It didn't matter what was going on inside our minds, we were still the same physically. Was it the same way with the wolves? Would it really be that easy for me to crush Paul?

The thought of that truly upset me. After I was done helping the Cullens, I decided to visit Paul, since Seth had told me that he had wanted to see me all dolled up. I walked to his apartment, but let my hair down just before I entered La Push. I wasn't completely sure why I was walking. I guess I had done it subconsciously to give myself a bit more time alone with my thoughts.

The prospect of physically hurting Paul seemed ridiculous…but I knew that it was all too possible. Would I actually crush him if we were intimate with one another? I didn't like that idea. I walked into his apartment building and went up to his apartment. Paul had given me a key to his apartment so I wouldn't have to always buzz in when I was coming to see him.

I unlocked his door as silently as I could and went inside. I could hear that he was asleep in the bedroom, so I slipped inside and into bed with him. I felt him stir slightly and I waited for the inevitable moment when he would wake up. As if on cue, his eyes fluttered open and his eyes adjusted to the light.

"Hey," I said quietly.

"Hey," he said, smile immediately lighting his face. "I didn't expect you to come tonight."

"Seth told me that you wanted to see me all dolled up," I said returning his smile.

"You look absolutely gorgeous," he whispered, as if drinking in the sight of me. If I were human, I was sure my cheeks would have been beat red at his words. "I wish that I could've danced with you tonight."

I shrugged. "Seth explained everything."

"Let's stop talking," he suggested and captured my lips with his. Just as it started getting heavy between us, I broke away from him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I…I could hurt you," I said.

"What are you talking about?" he whispered. "Harley, you won't hurt me, why are you thinking like this? No matter what you do, you wouldn't hurt me. Nothing you could do would stop me from loving you."

He meant emotionally. I meant physically.

"No," I said. "I meant I could physically hurt you."

He looked oddly at me. "What?"

"I know that you think you're indestructible, and for the most part you are…but when you're vulnerable like that…I don't think it'd be the same," I said. "But me? I never change. Physically I'll _always _be the same. No matter what state I'm in emotionally. You heard the argument Jacob had with Bella tonight. You _do _realize that the same thing could happen to you, right?"

"I'm so much stronger than a human, Harley," he said.

I looked away. "I…I don't want to risk that."

"Let me show you how easy it can be," he whispered and with that, we made love to one another, and Paul showed me just how easy it could be.


	7. Chapter 7: Control

Chapter 7: Control

I lay in bed beside Paul's snoring figure feeling both elated and terrible. I felt elated for obvious reasons, but I felt terrible because I still couldn't tell if I had physically hurt him or not. Right now he was sleeping soundly, but I still felt bad.

I didn't even want to think that I had hurt Paul. And if he had gotten hurt, it was entirely my fault. He was mostly covered with the blanket, but I did a once-over of his chest and arms which weren't covered. His chest had a couple scratches on it, and his arms were lined with bruises.

I felt absolutely disgusted with myself. _I _had done that to him.

His wounds were already healing, but that didn't make me feel any better. I silently slipped out of bed and gathered my clothes. I looked once more at him; a tiny part of me wishing he'd wake up before I could leave, but he didn't. I left his bedroom and got dressed in the hallway. I looked at my heels wearily. It didn't bother me to wear them, I just didn't want to. Annoyed with myself more than anything, I slipped them on my feet and left Paul's apartment building.

I walked through the streets thinking hard about what had happened. How could I have agreed to it when I so clearly knew the consequences of what could happen? Why had I let Paul convince me like that?

I didn't regret doing it-I regretted losing control.

I had completely lost control, and I hated that. That was worse than anything.

I could have bitten Paul.

The reality of that washed over me and it made me even angrier with myself. If I had bitten him it wouldn't have been as bad for him, but his blood could make me physically sick. Kind of like eating food. I'd have to cough it back up as soon as I possibly could. Now _that _would have been embarrassing.

I sighed. How could I feel so amazing and terrible at the same time? Paul and I had finally been _together_; shouldn't I be happier than I ever had been in my life? And in a way I was…but I had hurt him like the monster I was.

It dawned on me how much of a monster I was. I honestly wouldn't blame Paul if he wanted absolutely nothing to do with me after this.

For the millionth time since I had been turned, I longed to be a human again. I longed to have that normality again. I longed to be normal.

I sat down on the curb and held my head in my hands, breathing heavily.

_Deep breaths, calm yourself down, you're fine_,_ he's fine. You're both perfectly-_

"Harley!" called a voice. I lifted my head to see a shirtless Paul running towards me. As he got to me he slowed down and started talking. "I woke up and you were gone, I got worried…are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said. "Are _you_ okay?"

He sat down beside me. "Of course I am."

I could still see the faint marks I had left on him.

"I gave you bruises and scratches."

"And they're healing, look," he held out his arm for me to see.

"But I still did it," I said. "I could have bitten you."

"You wouldn't have turned me, and it wouldn't have hurt me," he said. "Harley, I barely felt the scratches or the bruises. I'm perfectly fine."

"I still bruised and cut you," I said. "I'm a monster."

"No, you aren't. I'm the one who can turn into a monster," he said. "I think I'm the bigger monster here, Harley."

"But I'm stuck like this!" I motioned to myself. "I can _never _change!" I was so frustrated and angry with myself.

"You can't help what you are, just the same that I can't help what I am," he said, caressing my cheek. "If I had a problem with what you are, I wouldn't be here right now with you."

I looked into his eyes and I could tell that he was sincere. But still, deep down I still felt bad. I felt absolutely terrible for bruising and scratching him. And I could have bit him. I could have bit Paul.

That thought kept swirling around my mind as we walked back to his apartment and as he fell asleep with me wrapped tightly in his arms. What Paul had said had put me at ease, but I still felt super guilty about what had happened. I closed my eyes and leaned against Paul, wishing that I could drift off into sleep as easily he could.

I opened my eyes, and in the corner of the room I saw a man standing there. It scared me for a moment, but I recognized how he looked immediately. The look that he wasn't exactly _there_. He wasn't transparent or anything like that, he could easily have been mistaken as a trick of the light. I could see his features clearly. He had a strong jaw, and when he was alive he had probably had light eyes-maybe grey. I met his eyes evenly.

"What do you want?" I asked quietly, I didn't want to wake Paul up.

"You can see me?" he asked, surprised. I nodded. "I could sense there was someone I could speak to here…I thought it was him." He motioned to Paul. He hesitated before speaking again. "What is happening to me? Why am I like this?"

"You…you know that you died, right?" I asked.

He nodded. "I know that, but why can't I move on?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. I had never dealt with someone who was "stuck". Normally they could move freely between worlds, sometimes after they had moved on, they wanted to come back and speak to a loved one. Nobody had ever asked me why they couldn't move on.

"You…can't move on?" I asked.

He shook his head. I took a really close look at him. He wasn't really dressed in modern-day wear.

"How long ago did you die?" I asked.

"I don't know," he whispered. "I've been roaming the country for ages…I've lost track of time."

"Is there anything from your life that you remember?" I asked.

"I remember everything," he said. "I had two daughters…one was put in an insane asylum; we thought she was crazy. We heard she…she died in there."

Immediately my mind went to Alice. "What was her name?"

"Mary," he said, small smile lighting his face. "Mary Alice."

"She isn't dead," I said. "She's…like me."

"So she'd be able to speak with me?" he asked.

"No," I said. "But she's a vampire, like I am."

"So, she isn't dead," he said.

"No."

"Can you take me to her?" he asked. "I need to see that she's okay."

I glanced over at Paul. I didn't want to wake him, but I also really didn't want to leave him.

Again.

"Okay," I said. "I'll take you to her."

I wiggled my way out of Paul's arms and got out of bed. I motioned for the man's ghost to follow me, and I led him out of the apartment and into Forks. I can't lie and say that I wasn't a bit nervous at taking this man to see Alice.

Of course, she met us while we were partway into Forks. I heard his slight gasp as he saw her.

"Harley…?" she asked. "I saw what you were coming for."

"That's my little Alice?" her father asked.

I looked at him, and nodded.

"You mean he's right here?" she asked.

"Yep," I said. "He's looking at you right now."

"Tell her that I'm sorry," he said. "Tell her that I'm sorry for what I did to her…I should have let her stay…I shouldn't have locked her away."

I told her what he said, and I couldn't read the expression on her face.

"I forgive you," was all she said.

I turned to look at him, but he had vanished. He had finally found peace.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Argument**

"There's an issue, Harley, and I don't think the wolves are going to like it," Alice said, looking worriedly at me. "It has to do with Edward and Bella."

It had been about two weeks since Edward and Bella's wedding, and as far as I knew, they were still on their honeymoon having an absolutely fabulous time, but Alice's face told me something completely different.

"What is it?" I asked.

She took a deep, unnecessary breath. "Bella may be pregnant."

"What?!" I demanded. "How is that even possible?"

"I don't even know," she said, rubbing at her head as if she had a headache. "You can't tell any of the wolves about this, Harley, not yet. I just figured I'd warn you. They probably won't be happy with this, well; I can almost guarantee that they won't be happy about this."

"Who else knows?" I asked.

"No one," she said. "I haven't told anybody yet, because it isn't for sure. I figured I should tell you because you need to be prepared."

"Prepared?" I asked.

She looked at me, as if she didn't want to tell me what was going through her head.

"You may have to pick a side," she whispered.

"A side?" I repeated.

She nodded miserably. "The wolves will want war for this, I can already tell."

A pregnant pause fell between us.

"You mean…choosing between vampires and the wolves?" I asked. She nodded miserably. "So, basically choosing between what I am, and Paul?" Again, she nodded. "We both know what my choice is, Alice. How can I go against what I am? I mean, I love him, but this is different, this is something that they definitely will _not_ understand. _I _don't even understand it."

"Well, you don't have to worry just yet," she said. "One of two things could happen, one is that Bella ends up pregnant, the other, she comes home fine and everything's okay. It all just depends on what they've…_done_." The look on her face told me that she didn't exactly want to delve too deeply into what they had done. I didn't blame her for it.

My mind was whirling. The pack would _not_ be pleased about this.

Alice sighed. "I know it's confusing and frustrating. I just figured I should let you know because you're directly involved with the wolves."

"I'm not angry with you for telling me," I said. "I'd rather know than be kept in the dark about it. Now I can get ready for it."

"They may want war for this," she warned.

"I know," I said.

"It may tear you and him apart."

"I know," I said, this time there was sadness in my voice. "But I can't go against what I am."

She put her hand on my shoulder. "If it comes true, they'll be back here either tonight or tomorrow. I'm not completely sure."

"Then I should go see him and spend as much time with him as I can before they may or may not come back pregnant," I said.

She nodded. "I don't blame you."

"I'll see you later, Alice," I said.

She waved goodbye to me as I left the Cullen house and made my way to La Push. I didn't know what to do. I knew I couldn't tell Paul about what Alice had told me, but how could I hide it from him? Since the time we had first met I've noticed that he's very in tune with my emotions. He can tell when something's wrong with me.

I sighed and looked up at the cloudy sky, contemplating how to deal with Paul when I saw him today. All too soon I made it to his apartment, and I was nervous. I didn't know what I was going to say to him. In the time since Edward and Bella's wedding I had permanently moved into Paul's apartment with him…would that change now?

I snuck into his-our-apartment to see him dozing in bed. If I were human I'm sure my face would have flushed at my last memory in that bed. To take my mind off of it, I went into the kitchen to make something for him to eat. I figured since he was sleeping he had had a long night with the guys.

I really wasn't sure why they were still patrolling the border. They knew the Cullens weren't a threat, but Sam was stubborn. I prepare a sandwich for Paul, holding my breath the whole time. The smell of the food made me feel nauseous. As soon as I was done making it for him, he emerged from his bedroom.

I turned to meet his eyes, and I saw surprise and happiness flit across his face.

"I thought I heard someone in my kitchen," he said, playfully accusing me.

"I made you some breakfast-er…lunch," I said, noticing it was well past noon.

"That's very sweet," he said, grinning at me. I handed him the plate and sat with him at the kitchen table.

"How was your day?" he asked.

For a split second I hesitated, and I prayed he didn't notice. I shrugged. "Nothing spectacular happened."

Our eyes met, and I could tell that he knew something was up, but he didn't say anything about it. I changed the subject as quickly as I could.

"What are you doing today?" I asked lightly, eyeing his face, hoping to interpret some emotion there. His face gave nothing away.

He shrugged. "Sam doesn't have me patrolling, so hopefully we can have a relaxing day."

I smiled. "I like the sound of that."

When he was finished his sandwich, he scooped me into his arms and plopped onto the couch with me. I was comfortable sitting in his lap, and I buried my face in his neck, breathing in his scent.

He didn't smell like a wet dog to me, he smelled like Paul. The other wolves smelled downright gross to me, but not Paul.

I felt him chuckle. "Doesn't the smell bother you?"

I shook my head. "No, you don't smell like the other guys, you smell like you. Doesn't _my_ smell bother you?"

"No," he said. "For you, it isn't as bad. The other vamps literally make my nose burn, but you don't have that effect on me. I guess it's the imprint."

"Well, I'm glad," I said, smiling at him.

It was so weird to think how far Paul and I had come. I could remember the day we met like it was yesterday. I remembered the look on his face when he saw me, and I can remember wondering what the hell his problem was.

The thought brought a smile to my face. I couldn't believe how far we had come.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a text from Alice.

**They're on their way home. I'm sure Sam will be calling Paul momentarily. Get ready.**

Ah hell. I didn't respond to Alice, I just put my phone back in my pocket.

"What is it?" Paul asked, I guess something on my face gave away my emotion, or my posture may have changed. I didn't know, but I didn't like that he could tell so easily. I had to hide this from him-I didn't want to lie to him.

"Nothing," I said, smiling at him.

"Something's wrong," he said, eyes searching mine. "Harley, what's going on?"

I looked away from him. I couldn't meet his eyes.

He pulled my face back to his so I was forced to look at him. "Tell me."

"I can't," I whispered. "I'm sorry-but I can't."

"Are you okay?" he asked, I felt his hold tighten around me.

"I'm fine," I said. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"Then what's wrong?" he asked. "Come on, you can tell me."

I took a deep breath; I guess I could tell him now. I mean, it was set in stone that Bella was pregnant. "Edward and Bella are cutting their honeymoon short."

He looked at me oddly. "And…?"

I looked away from him again. I didn't want to tell him. Nervousness gripped me. This may tear us apart.

"Bella is…" I took a deep breath. "She's pregnant."

Paul stilled. He literally did not move. I held my breath, waiting for his reaction. I still couldn't look at him.

"Is that even possible?" he asked; voice quiet.

"Apparently it is," I said. I was afraid of losing him over this. This could pit the wolves against us vampires.

He blew all the air out of his lungs. He knew the problem here, it was clear as day.

"I can't choose over what I am," I whispered.

"Neither can I," he said.

We were both quiet. Neither of us knew what to say.

"What are we going to do?" he finally asked-the tone of his voice told me he really wasn't sure of what I would say, and that he didn't completely _want _to know my answer.

Hell, I didn't even want to know what my own answer was.

"I don't know," I whispered. "I guess we'll just see how it rides out?"

"Sam will want it terminated," he said softly. "Jake probably will too."

I froze and met his eyes again. "What do you want?"

Now it was his turn to look away. "I don't know…this…this baby could be so dangerous Harley…we'll have no idea what to expect."

"So you'll want it terminated," I whispered.

He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't _want_ it terminated, I just…I know that it isn't safe. We wolves…we're here; we're like this, to protect Forks. This…this thing could be so dangerous to Forks…" he trailed off, running his hand through his hair again.

"Then I guess I'd better start packing my things," I said quietly.

He tightened his hold on me again. "What?"

His eyes desperately searched mine and I could hear the desperation in his voice. I couldn't meet his eyes, if I did, I wouldn't be able to leave. And I knew that I had to.

"I can't choose over what I am," I whispered. "I can't abandon the Cullens."

"This baby is…" he trailed off. "It could be dangerous, can't you see that?"

"It's half human," I reminded him.

"But also half vampire," he practically growled. Immediately I saw regret in his eyes. I could tell he hadn't meant to say that. I recoiled as if I was slapped.

"And is that a bad thing?" I snapped.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said.

"But you still said it," I snapped. I was hurt. I shoved his hands off of me and stood up.

"Harley, please, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it like that." He stood up too and pulled me back into his arms. "Please don't leave me."

"What if the situation was us, instead of Edward and Bella?" I demanded, pushing away from him.

He hesitated. "It couldn't happen."

"Hypothetically," I said. "What if it was us?"

"It would be different," he said.

"How?" I asked. "It'd still be half vampire, wouldn't it? In fact, it'd have not one, but two monsters in it. How would that not be dangerous?"

He hesitated again. I had trapped him.

"I'm going," I said. "I'll come back to get my things later."

"Don't," he begged. "Please, Harley, don't go. _Please _stay here."

Before I could answer, his phone rang. He didn't even make a move to answer it.

"You better get that," I sneered. "It's probably Sam, wanting your help in terminating a pregnancy."

"That isn't fair," he growled.

I turned on my heel and went to leave the apartment, but just before I got to the door, he crashed into me, pinning me to the door. He turned me around, so I was forced to look at him.

"If it were you, I'd trust you to make the right decision. You know what's good for you, you'd be able to make a proper decision as to what to do," he growled. "But, I would want you to get rid of it, for the sheer fear of losing you. If I lost you…I…I don't know what I'd do with myself. You mean the world to me, Harley, can't you see that?"

I tried not to melt at his words, but it was hard. He looked so sincere…so desperate. I wanted to grab him and kiss him and promise that I would never leave him. But…the reason for his words to me…I couldn't deal with that. Terminating a pregnancy was a touchy subject for me. I couldn't believe he couldn't trust Bella to make a good decision here.

"I love you," he whispered, eyes boring into mine.

If my heart was beating, it would have skipped a beat.

"I…" I trailed off and gave myself a minute to regain my thoughts. "I need to leave."

I saw disappointment clear on his face, but he let go of me, and I rushed out of the apartment.

I couldn't think straight-my thoughts were jumbled and messy. I just…I had to get to the Cullens' house, maybe Alice would be able to help me.


	9. Chapter 9: Tension

**Chapter 9: Tension**

Back at the Cullen house, we were getting ready for Bella and Edward's arrival. I knew that Alice could tell that something was wrong with me, but she didn't comment on it. I'd talk to her later. There were bigger things we had to worry about now.

"When are they arriving?" I asked.

"Within the hour," Alice said, watching the clock warily. I'm sure she was just as nervous as I was about what was coming through that door. Even though she basically knew what to expect, she still couldn't be one-hundred percent sure. After a few minutes of silence between us, she quietly asked, "Would you like to talk to me about what happened with Paul?"

I turned to look at her, question mark look on my face. How had she known?

"Don't give me that look, even without seeing your future because of his interference I know that something happened. I could see you coming back here looking upset exactly three minutes before you actually walked through the door looking upset. I can see when you're going to go back there to gather your things, even though you probably haven't consciously made that decision yet. All I don't know is exactly what happened, and if you don't want to tell me, that's completely understandable, just know that I'm here when and if you do want to talk about it."

I took a deep breath. "We got into a fight about the baby. He was going on about how it should be terminated, because it's dangerous, he didn't understand…" I trailed off.

"Is there more to it?" she asked gently. "I mean, him just saying that Bella's baby should be terminated wouldn't cause you to necessarily walk out without another word."

I nodded. "There is more; I asked him what he would think if it were _me_ pregnant with his baby…he kept saying how he'd leave it up to me, but would expect me to make the 'right' choice, but that he'd want me to get rid of it."

Alice was quiet got a few minutes. "Would you get rid of it?"

I met her eyes. "I don't know."

"I don't know what I'd do either," she said. "I think in the back of my mind I'd know what I _should _do, but my conscious would take over. I don't know how I'd actually be able to go through with getting rid of it."

"I don't think I'd be able to get rid of it," I said honestly. "Regardless of what's right or wrong, I mean, that's a little _person_ in there. It didn't do anything wrong. It wouldn't deserve that."

"Unfortunately the men in this house don't feel the same way. I can tell that Jasper, Carlisle and Emmett all think that this is going to be a horrible idea. I can already see what Bella is going to decide, and I can see what Edward is going to think and want. As you can guess; their opinions clash immensely. Esme, you and I, and even Rosalie-especially Rosalie, are all on Bella's side more with this. Carlisle, even though he thinks this will end badly, seems to already know what Bella will decide, and he's interested in dealing with a half-vampire. It's completely new territory, and it's intriguing for him."

"And we already know what the wolves think, for the most part at least," I said. I couldn't keep the bitter edge out of my voice.

Alice put her hand on my shoulder. "It's okay; we'll make it through this. It won't be too bad. From what I've seen, the wolves can't stay away from their imprints for long; he'll come around when he's ready. He's more upset than angry right now-I know that you're angrier, but I can tell that you're also really upset about it."

I sighed. "I don't want to lose him over this. I knew something like this would come between us, I knew that sooner or later something like this…a clash between us because of what we are would end up happening. It was bound to happen."

She squeezed my shoulder, trying to comfort me. "You won't lose him. It'll be tense between you two for a while, that's for sure, but you guys will work your way through this."

"I'm not used to this," I admitted. "I've been alone for so long. I'm not used to someone being so committed to me; I'm not used to someone caring for me so much. I'm used to being alone."

"I was on my own for thirty years before I met Jasper-probably even longer than that," she said quietly. "I don't remember much of my human life, but as far as I know, I was in an insane asylum before I was turned. So basically, I was isolated and alone. Then, I was turned, only to have visions of Jasper and Carlisle-by that time Carlisle had Esme, Edward, Rosalie and Emmett, and we were set to join them. I had seen it numerous times, almost on a daily basis until I met Jasper. About a week after we met, we found the Cullens, and…well the rest you know."

I was quiet, mulling this over.

"It's hard to adapt to now having Paul and basically a family," I said. "It's hard to wrap my head around it."

"I know firsthand how hard it is to wrap your head around," she said, nodding in understanding. She and I were both quiet, and then she said, "They're here."

I felt the atmosphere in the house change immediately. Sure, when I had walked in earlier, they all seemed tense, but not it was like the tension had been multiplied by eight thousand. Edward and Bella walked through the front door, and I'm sure she could feel our eyes on her. Edward locked eyes with me, seeming to be "reading" through my conversation with Paul earlier. His expression changed slightly, but he kept it as neutral as possible so Bella wouldn't notice.

Surprisingly, Rosalie went to Bella's side immediately, before Carlisle could even get to her, and grasped her arm and led her to the couch. Her maternal side was kicking in; it was clear as day. She wanted to help Bella through this; she wanted to be there for the baby more than anything. Bella looked fine. She looked shaken, but other than that, she looked fine. Rosalie led her to the couch in the living room, and as she sat down I noticed a small baby bump. This baby was going to grow very quickly…and it would be very hard on Bella.

Edward didn't take his eyes off of her as Carlisle examined her. He had never dealt with something like this before, so he wasn't sure how to go about dealing with it.

Over the course of the next few days a lot changed. Bella's stomach grew, while the rest of her basically began to deteriorate. She looked scarily thin, while her stomach looked unbelievably bloated.

Things changed with the wolves as well. There were now two packs. One consisted of Jacob, and Leah and Seth Clearwater, while the other pack consisted of all the other wolves. The pack of just Jacob, Leah and Seth were the wolves that were actually on Bella's side with this…well, they were the ones who didn't want to kill both Bella and the baby while it was still actually inside of her. I watched Jacob closely. I knew he wanted to kill the baby…but he wanted to do it after it was born. Bella had wanted Jacob there with her. She clung to him whenever he was around.

I hadn't spoken to Paul since our argument either. I knew that Alice wanted to say something to me about it, but she held back. There were bigger things on our plate right now than my drama with Paul.

Alice was frustrated. She couldn't tell what was going to happen with Bella, as she wasn't familiar with a half vampire, half human. It was like dealing with the wolves, except Bella's future and the baby's future wasn't black; it was too blurry for Alice to see. I noticed she would linger close to Jacob when he was around; apparently not being able to see anything soothed her head.

It was ironic that of all people who would give Alice peace of mind, it was one of the wolves.

I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I did miss Paul. It was weird not seeing him on a daily basis-hell; it was weird not _living_ with him anymore. I had been trying to keep my thoughts away from him, but it was hard. Alice and I spent a lot of time together in the attic. Her head was killing her because of the baby, and Bella had begun to drink human blood to satiate the baby's thirst-that had been the hard part for me. I couldn't be around her when she was drinking it. My self-control had always been fine, but now it was getting to me.

I think it was the fact that someone was literally drinking it out of a cup right in front of me. I had never drunk human blood in my life before, and now it was literally right in front of me, practically being offered to me.

And, we were hunting less often, so I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was being affected by it.

I'm sure it was especially bad for Edward. He had to listen to everything thinking about drinking it, as well as Jasper having to feel everyone's want to feed.

Speaking of which, right now, Alice and I were out hunting. This was the first time I had hunted since Bella and Edward had arrived back. At one point I realized Alice wasn't with me anymore. I turned to see her standing about three feet away from me.

"I can't go any further," she said. "You're in La Push."

"Sorry!" I said, making a move to go back, but a growling from behind me stopped me in my tracks.

Alice's facial expression changed slightly and she said, "I'll give you two some privacy." And then she ran off. I felt exceptionally stupid as I turned around to face him. He was in wolf form and staring at me.

"What?" I demanded. He transformed into human form, pulling on a pair of shorts that were tied around a little rope on his leg. He loomed over me and stared down at me, not saying anything. "If you aren't going to say anything I'm just going to turn around and leave."

"Your eyes are so dark," he whispered.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't just interrupted my hunting…"

"Harley, I'm so sorry," he said.

I knew he didn't mean about the hunting thing. "You made it clear where you stand on the issue, and you know where I stand. Obviously our opinions are complete opposites."

"That shouldn't come between us!" he growled.

"On something like this, there's good reason for it to come between us, Paul," I snapped. "It's a _baby_ Paul. It's not some…some beast! It's half _human_. If it gets out of hand, Carlisle knows what to do. You should just keep your nose out of it. This has _nothing_ to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me!" he snapped. "This town is my home, and this thing could be a danger to the people who live here. I don't want any harm to come to them."

"Oh, so no harm is going to come to them from vampires and wolves?" I asked sarcastically.

"You guys don't hunt humans and we protect," he said. "We don't know what this baby is going to do."

"And what about Bella when she's been turned?"

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "That's illegal. Unless it's to save her life-which with the way things are going it probably will be that way-it's against the treaty."

"Edward knows what to do," I said. "If she's too out of hand they'll be taking her away, to some secluded area-Antarctica if they need to."

He looked away from me. "I don't want to argue with you."

"Too late," I snapped. Because he wasn't looking at me, I took the time to really examine his face. He looked tired. He had very dark circles under his eyes, and stubble lined his chin. My tone softened as I asked, "Why haven't you been sleeping?"

He turned back and met my eyes again. "Sam's been working us extra hard. And…I've missed having you with me."

I took a deep breath. I didn't want to crack, but I felt my willpower slowly draining from me. I wanted to run up to him and promise him that it'd be okay, but I couldn't. I forced myself to keep my feet planted and remembered what he had said about the baby before.

"This baby is putting more stress on us than you may think," he said. "Come on, Harley, come back, please."

I wanted to, I wanted to so badly. But I couldn't. "I have to hunt."

I went to push past him, but he grabbed my arm and pushed me against a tree so I was trapped between him and the tree. Anger and desire burned through my veins, but anger was the more prominent emotion at the moment.

"Let go of me," I growled.

"No."

"Paul, so help me God I will snap your wrist if you don't let go of me."

"It'll heal," he said. "Harley, please come back, I miss you."

I pushed him off of me, and glared at him. "No."

I ran into the deeper part of the forest, listening for the sounds of him following me. I couldn't hear anything, so I slumped onto the ground and held my head in my hands. I missed him. _A lot_. But I couldn't go back to him. At least not until everything with the baby was sorted out. I needed to see what happened with that before I could make my decision as to whether or not I would go back to him.

I hadn't even heard him approach, but I felt his arms circle around me. I tensed right away, but then relaxed as he murmured, "It's okay. I can tell you need me."

I rested my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, relishing in the sheer serenity of this moment between us.


	10. Chapter 10: Sacrifices

**Chapter 10: Sacrifices**

"I have to get back to the Cullens," I said quietly. "And I need to hunt."

"No," he said, tightening his hold on me. "I'm tire of being away from you. Come home with me, spend the night. Please, Harley, please. I'm begging you here."

"I can't, Paul," I said. "I have to get back. I need to help Alice. She could need me."

"_I _need you," he whispered.

"Don't guilt me," I whispered desperately. "Paul, I need to get back."

"Fine," he snapped. "Go back to them."

I could tell he was angry, but he didn't let go of me. "They're my kind, Paul. I can't turn my back on them. You know this. We've been over this."

"Please Harley," he begged. "Please, I need you. Don't leave me. I'll go against my pack for you, just don't…don't leave me."

"They'll think I'm going against them," I said. "This isn't the same as a pack."

"How is it not the same?" he demanded. "Tell me how, Harley. They're my brothers. They're my kind, just like the Cullens are your kind. Do you know how hard it is to go against my pack? You literally mean the world to me, and I would do anything for you, including going against them." He shifted us so I was facing him; he caressed my face and looked deep into my eyes. "I'm not going to let go of you."

"I don't want to be let go," I whispered.

At my words, it was as though a light had turned on in his eyes. "I'm not letting you go again, Harley. I won't let go. I'm not going to lose you again. We can work through this. You know how I feel about that baby, but I'm willing to go against what Sam says for you. I'm willing to sit this one out for you"

"You'd really do that?" I asked.

"Yes, love, I would. I want you to come back to me."

"Paul! What are you doing?" the sound of Sam's voice made Paul jump. I turned to see Sam approaching us with an angry expression on his face. I took a deep breath, knowing that this wouldn't end well. I didn't want to deal with Sam right now.

"We were talking," Paul said, with an angry set to his jaw.

"I heard what you were talking about. If you want to go against me, go join Jake's pack, but you and I both know what that thing is going to do to this town. I know how you really feel. I've got a direct line into your head, _she_ doesn't." That stung, but I didn't let it show on my face. Rage and sadness washed over me, but I wouldn't allow it to show. Allowing the hurt to show would just make me look weak. "Our pack is shrinking, Paul. I can't lose another member. You're either with me, or you aren't. Make your decision now."

"It's wrong to kill a child," Paul said through gritted teeth. Hope flared in my chest. Would he really go against Sam?

"You'd abandon your pack for a vampire?" Sam practically spat the word vampire.

Anger burned through my veins and I stood up, pushing Paul away from me as I did it. "You know what, Sam? Keep him. Take him. I don't want to make him choose between his family and me. I'm not going to let that happen, because even though I hate to admit it, I know what his choice will be. And even if he didn't choose what I know he would, either choice wouldn't make me happy in the end, because I would know the sacrifice he'd make either way. So I'm making this choice easy for him." I turned to Paul. "Go."

"No," he said forcefully.

"Paul, go with him. I can see how torn you are, just go."

"I'm not leaving you," he growled.

"Then I'm leaving you," I said. "Goodbye, Paul."

"No, Harley-" Before he could finish what he was saying I had run off. Once I made it over the border and further into Forks, I sat down on the forest floor, and held my head in my hands, sobbing. Obviously no tears came, but the sobs erupting from chest were enough to get Alice's attention. I felt her arms circle around me and hold me tight against her. After I was done sobbing, Alice and I went hunting. She didn't ask me any questions, but I'm sure she knew the gist of what had happened. Either that or she could see what I had been planning on telling her if she asked. I wasn't sure if she'd be able to see what I was going to say because it had to do with Paul, but I could just rest easy with the fact that she probably knew, and that I wouldn't have to relive it by telling her what had happened.

Just as Alice and I were going into the Cullen house, I noticed a figure out of the corner of my eye.

"Alice, wait," I said, turning to face the figure. I immediately knew that it was a spirit. It was a woman with jet black hair and russet coloured skin that matched everyone else's from the res. She met my eyes with an urgent expression on her face. I studied her face. She looked like Paul. I knew it sounded crazy, but I could definitely see some family resemblance on her face.

"Harley, what is it?" she asked, turning to me.

"There's a spirit over there," I said, pointing. The spirit motioned me to come close to her. "Go inside, Alice, I…I'll deal with this."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You've been through a lot today."

"Yeah, I'm positive, I…I have to talk to her," I said.

"Call if you need me," she said, going into the house. I watched her go, and felt a twinge of remorse. I almost wanted to call Alice back and have her stay with me, but she was already inside. I turned back to the spirit, who was hadn't moved.

Slowly, I walked towards her, trying to keep my guard up, but it was hard. She looked so desperate and she looked like she had something pressing to tell me.

"Who…who are you?" I asked when I was a few feet away from her.

"My name is Margaret Lahote, I'm Paul's grandmother," she said.

"Oh…pleasure to…" I cleared my throat uncomfortably. "Pleasure to meet you."

"I am aware of what happened between you and my grandson," she said. There was no judgement in her voice, but I felt sheepish and a little embarrassed regardless. "I know that he can be difficult sometimes. He's a stubborn boy with a bad temper. You need to stick with him, though."

"What?" I asked.

"He _needs_ you, you're good for him. You've improved who he is. Don't give up on him. He may not say it much, but he loves you. I know he does," she said. "You mean more to him than the pack, and that's a big step for someone in a pack to take. His grandfather couldn't do it, and neither could his father."

I bit my lip. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"Listen to your heart,"

"My heart doesn't beat. It doesn't work," I said.

"That doesn't mean you don't get feelings from it. You know what you need to do."

She looked like she was going to leave, but I stopped her before she could. "Wait; is there anything you'd like me to tell him?"

"Tell him that he's strong, and that I'm proud of him."

"I promise that I will," I said. "Thank you for coming to me."

"Goodbye, Harley, be good to him." With that, she left, and I was left alone outside the Cullen house. I sunk onto the ground, not wanting to go in the house. I didn't feel at home here. I felt so much more at ease at Paul's apartment. I was tempted to run straight to his apartment and talk to him.

"Go see him," urged a velvety voice quietly.

I turned to see Edward coming towards me.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "No, I can't do that."

By this point Edward had reached me and sat down beside me. "I know how you feel about him. If I was in your shoes, and this was between Bella and me, I'd do anything to get her back."

"I wish I could get him back," I said. "I really do, but I can see how much it's hurting him to have to make this choice, so I made it for him."

"Ever hear the phrase 'love conquers all'?" Edward asked.

I took a deep breath. "Yes, I have. But this is his life. You know exactly how Jacob's pack feels, and you know how Sam's pack feels."

"If more of the wolves join Jacob's pack, which they are, then there's a better chance that the baby will survive this thing. Sam's pack wants to terminate the pregnancy as well as Bella, whereas Jacob's pack is waiting until the baby is born. If they can see that it isn't a threat, they won't do anything to it."

"Who else has joined Jacob's pack?" I asked.

"Right now it's Embry and Quil who have joined, and three others who I don't know."

"And the rest are still with Sam," I said. It wasn't a question.

"And the rest are still with Sam," Edward echoed.

"Paul and Jared will be the hardest to crack," I said. "They're the two key members of the pack now. They were the first two to join Sam, making Jared beta and Paul third-in-command since Jake left. I don't know how they'll be convinced, or if they even will be."

"They don't need to be convinced." I hadn't realized that Jacob had approached us. "We can take 'em if they try anything."

"Paul wants to join you," I said quietly. "Well…he told me he's willing to go against Sam, but I wouldn't let him."

"He won't leave Sam. He and Jared will stick by Sam regardless. They won't join me, at least not any time soon. They're too important to his pack; they've been with him the longest. Sam won't allow it even if they try it."

"He can't do that!" I said. "It's their choice to leave. Sam even told Paul to leave his pack and join you."

"Reverse psychology," Edward said. "Apparently it worked. Maybe not on Paul, but it worked on you."

"Yeah, he knew Sam was that smart?" Jacob said with a laugh.

"Harley, I know why you're so reluctant to go to him. You think that you'll be turning your back on us. I assure you, you aren't. We all understand," Edward said.

"And besides, we know how imprints work," Jake added. "We know what it's like. You're not abandoning 'this' pack. Hell, for vamps imprints probably work both ways."

"Guys, stop," I said. "The decision has already been made. I'm not going to stop that. Paul knows where he has to stand, and he knows where I stand. Maybe after this mess we'll be able to work something out, but who knows?"

"Go see him," Edward urged. "You know it's what you need."

"Harley, before I broke away from the pack, I had a direct line into his head. He really cares about you, and I can almost guarantee that this whole thing is driving him insane. Go see him," Jake said.

I looked at both Edward and Jacob, and they were both looking encouragingly at me.

"Maybe, I don't know," I said.

"Go for a walk, think things over," Edward said, squeezing my shoulder.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that. See you guys later." I stood up and went into the forest, thinking about everything that had happened today. The visit from Paul's grandmother had really shaken me up. I didn't want to go see him, but I knew that I needed to. I made my way to his apartment building. I went inside and made my way up to his apartment. I hesitated before knocking, then took a deep breath and did it.

There was no answer. The feeling of rejection stabbed at me, and I knocked again, harder this time.

"Paul, I know you're in there," I said forcefully. "Open up."

On a whim, I tried to open the door and it was unlocked. Now instead of rejection, nervousness washed over me. Where was he? Why would he have left his door unlocked? Was he even here? I opened the door and went inside.

"Paul?" I called. Nothing. No answer. Oh my God, what had happened to him? Where was he? I went into his bedroom to see if he was there, but he wasn't. Was he still out with Sam?

I left his bedroom and sat on the couch. If I wanted to talk to him today, I would just have to wait for him here. Of course, while I was sitting here alone in his apartment, my imagination got the best of me and I could only imagine that something awful had happened to him. Every time I heard the elevator stop at his floor and the doors open, hope would spark deep inside of me, but it wasn't him.

"How did you get in here?" asked a cold voice from behind me. I turned to see him standing in the doorway, looking cold and distant. Oh no, this wasn't good. Not good at all.

"The door was unlocked," I said quietly. "I thought you were here, I want to talk to you about…about everything."

"You made your point very clear right before you ran off earlier."

I got up off the couch and went over to him. "Your grandmother visited me."

For a split second his expression changed from guarded to surprised, but he masked it quickly. "How stupid do you think I am? My grandmother's been dead for-" at my look he stopped what he was saying. "Why are you telling me this?"

"She wanted me to pass along a message to you," I said. I studied his face as I said this, and it didn't change. It remained cold and guarded, and I was starting to lose hope. Had I lost him? _Well, you only have yourself to blame if you did lose him, you told him to stick with Sam; if you've lost him it's your fault. _"She…she wanted me to tell you that she's proud of you, and that you're strong."

"Is that all you came here for?" he asked. His voice had changed a bit. Instead of sounding cold, he sounded a bit vulnerable and sad, but there was still the cold edge to his voice that I didn't like.

"What happened earlier-"

"Don't," he said. My eyes widened at him. I had lost him. He was gone from me.

"Then I…I guess I'll just be going, then," I said.

He didn't say anything so I walked past him out of the apartment. Walking down the hallway, I felt defeat stab at me. I had lost him and I would never get him back. He had slipped through my fingers like sand.

Out of nowhere, I felt his arms come around me. He spun me around so we were facing each other and he kissed me. I kissed him back with everything I had in me, and I knotted my hands in his hair. He pressed me up against the wall of the hallway, never breaking the connection between us. He lifted me up and carried me back into his apartment.

"Is this a mistake?" I mumbled against his mouth.

"Screw the consequences," he muttered, carrying me into the bedroom and tossing me onto the bed.


	11. Chapter 11: Birth

**Chapter 11: Birth**

I slipped out of Paul's bed and made my way out of his apartment after getting dressed. I made it down the hall and outside before I slumped against the wall of the building in a little alcove type thing. I felt like a complete fool. How could I have let that happen? How could I have let anything happen between us? I felt idiotic. I felt like I had let down my species. I felt like I had turned my back on them. I knew that both Edward and Jacob had said that I wasn't turning my back on them, but it felt like I was.

There was no way Paul would be convinced to leave Sam's side. Our opinions were so conflicting on this matter that it felt like it wouldn't be resolved with a few sweet words and having sex. I felt ashamed and disgusted with myself. This was a little person's _life_ at stake.

"Harley?" I heard him call. I pressed myself harder against the wall of the building, hiding in the shadows. I didn't want him to know that I was still here. "Come on, Harley, I know you're still around here somewhere. Talk to me, please."

He was close to me now. A lot closer. I could smell him. I stopped breathing and I didn't dare make a sound. He had come around the side of building now, and I could feel his presence. I could feel him getting closer to me, but I could tell that he didn't know where I was yet. I heard him take a few more steps toward the alcove, and then he was in plain sight. I pressed myself further against the wall partially to stop myself from walking up to him and talking to him, and partially to keep him from seeing me.

He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled deeply. His shoulders slumped forward, and I could tell he felt defeated. I wanted so badly to let him know it'd be okay, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to leave the safety of the alcove. Earlier with him, everything had felt so _right_. I didn't want to ruin what we had just shared by getting into an inevitable argument with him. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, but I ignored it. I was sure Paul would've heard it, but surprisingly he didn't. He abruptly turned around and stalked back into his apartment. From the slump of his shoulders, I could tell he was hurt, but deep down, I knew he understood why I had left. I was sure of it.

Regardless, to say I felt bad as a huge understatement. I felt awful about standing there, so close yet so far from him. I could have reached out and touched him. I could have assured him that everything would be okay.

But, I couldn't guarantee that everything would be okay. How could I be sure that everything between us would turn out alright? How could I lie to him like that? That would probably hurt more than ignoring him had. Lying to his face would have been harder for me to do than hiding from him. At least hiding from him wouldn't make his face light up at the prospect of hope like lying to him would.

Again, I felt my phone ring in my pocket, and I realized I hadn't even left the alcove yet. I fished my phone out of my pocket to see that Alice was calling. My stomach did a little flip. This could _not _be good.

"Alice?"

"Come home, the baby is being born," Alice said urgently.

"I'll be right there." I hung up on her and bolted to the Cullen house. I raced past where the wolves normally slept, and felt a jolt of surprise at seeing only Seth and Leah there. My stomach flipped again as the realization dawned on me that Jacob was already inside.

_Shit. _

It was only a matter of time before the other wolves showed up. Word of Bella having the baby was sure to reach the other wolves somehow. I went inside expecting to see the house a mess, but it everything was fine. Everything was perfectly in place. I made my way upstairs to the bedrooms, and it was oddly silent. This wasn't a good sign. I followed my nose. I could smell blood–Bella's blood to be exact. The scent of her blood and the strong smell of vampire venom led me to a room at the end of the hall. I pushed the door open slowly, and immediately I wanted to run screaming. The smell of Bella's blood hit me hard. She was lying on the bed, which was covered with blood. Edward was sitting beside her, grasping her hand with his head bowed.

I slowly walked towards him, trying to make a bit of noise as I walked to alert him of my presence. Of course, he probably heard my thoughts the minute I entered the room. I knew that he knew I was here, but I was going to wait for him to speak.

After a few minutes of silence, he asked in a broken voice, "Is she dead?"

The question caught me off guard. "What?"

"Your power–your connection to the dead–you would know if she was dead, right?"

"Y-yes…I would," I said quietly.

"Is she?" His voice was quiet. There was a strain in his voice that wasn't normal for him. He was terrified of losing her.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, concentrating on Bella. I called her spirit to me. _Come to me Bella, speak to me, if your spirit is roaming this realm, communicate with me. _

I opened my eyes, expecting to see Bella's ghostly figure, but I didn't. There was no spirit here. I smiled softly. "She isn't dead."

He turned to look at me, and the pure joy in his face made me heart squeeze.

"Thank you, Harley."

"Is she…?" I trailed off.

He nodded. "I injected the venom into her. I just…I wasn't sure if…"

I held up a hand. "I understand."

He let go of Bella's hand, and stood up. I gave him a surprised look, and he explained, "She's going to be out for three days. I'm sure we can all use a little break. Come meet my daughter."

"What's her name?" I asked as Edward led me downstairs.

"Renesmee," Jacob said, since we had reached the bottom of the stairs.

I noticed Edward stiffen immediately, and I took in the scene in front of me. Rosalie was cradling Renesmee in her arms on the couch, and Jacob was sitting close to them. Obviously not too close, considering Rosalie and Jacob didn't get along _at all_, but the fact that he was sitting _that_ close surprised me. I looked at Edward to see that he looked angry, and that was when I noticed how lovingly Jacob was looking at Renesmee.

He met Edward's eyes nervously. "I didn't mean for it to happen."

_Jacob had just imprinted on Renesmee!_


	12. Chapter 12: Peace

**Chapter 12: Peace**

Rosalie's head snapped up in the direction of Jacob, as if she was only now realizing that he was so close to her and Renesmee. The expression on her face immediately changed from loving of Renesmee, to feral at Jacob. I turned to look at Edward and saw the thunderous expression on his face. I had _never_ seen _anyone_ look as angry as Edward looked.

"What is he talking about?" Rosalie practically growled, holding Renesmee closer to her chest and looking sharply at Edward.

Edward completely ignored her and didn't take his eyes off of Jacob. He growled, "Outside. Now."

Jacob slowly rose from the couch. He looked absolutely _terrified_.

"Don't hurt him," Alice's tinkling voice had everyone turning in her direction.

"What?!" Edward demanded. "He just _imprinted _on my daughter–he imprinted on _your niece!_"

"I understand that," Alice said. "But, firstly, we don't know when Sam will come here–if he'll come here at all–and right now, Jacob is the only thing that'll keep Renesmee alive. If he's imprinted on her, Sam can't hurt her. I know Jacob isn't part of that pack anymore, but Sam definitely won't go up against Leah and Seth. Sure, he might want to fight Jacob, but he wouldn't do that to Seth and Leah."

"It's true," I interjected. "But if something happens to Jacob, there's nothing in Sam's way."

"There's us," Emmett said, cracking his knuckles and grinning.

Alice and I simultaneously rolled our eyes.

"Yes Emmett we _are_ strong," I said. "But Jacob is our only concrete way to keep the other pack off our backs." Fear bloomed in my chest. If Emmett was seriously planning on go against the other wolves, who knew what shape Paul and the other guys would end up in? Who knew what shape us vampires would end up in? It would just be a lot of unnecessary death.

"And secondly, I think we should wait for Bella to wake up to tell her what happened," Alice said. "I think if she wakes up to find Jacob dead she'll want to know what happened, and probably get angry that we didn't wait to tell her."

Emmett's laughter shook the house. "You're right, Ali, she'll probably want to take a few chunks out of him."

I took a deep breath, wanting to say more but froze. Jacob and Edward both stiffened at the same time. We looked at each other and we knew.

"What is it?" Carlisle asked, noticing how we had suddenly frozen.

"They're here," Jacob said, jaw tight.

"Rosalie, Esme, stay inside," Edward said. "Keep Renesmee with you. Harley, Jacob, Alice, Carlisle and Emmett, come outside with me to talk to them. Jasper, stay by the front door inside and listen, if it comes to fighting we may need you–but hopefully it won't come to that."

The five of us followed Edward outside and I fought the urge to run the other way. Sam had brought the entire pack with him. Coming around the side of the house was Leah and Seth. Nobody had phased–yet.

My eyes scanned the pack. Sam was in front, with Paul and Jared flanking him, just as Emmett and I were flanking Edward. Paul met my eyes evenly, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. His face was that cold mask of anger again, but I could see through it. He was sad. Guilt coursed through me. _I _had caused that sadness.

"So, this is what it's come to," Sam said, which made me pull my gaze away from Paul. "A stand-off in the forest."

"You're on our land," Edward said. "You've broken the treaty."

Sam looked around. "I don't see Bella anywhere, where is she?"

Edward hesitated. "She was dying."

"It looks like _you_ broke the treaty first," Sam pointed out.

"I gave him permission to turn her," Jacob said, stepping beside Edward and me.

Sam narrowed his eyes at him. "You broke away from the pack, that wasn't your call to make."

I heard a low growl erupt from Jacob's chest. "My great-grandfather made the original treaty. My bloodline allows me to make decisions like this."

"We are here to protect," Sam said with an angry edge to his voice. "The child in that house could potentially be dangerous. If you don't let us through, we'll force our way in."

I took a deep breath and stepped in front of Edward. "Then you're going to have to get through me, Sam."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Paul shift uncomfortably, but I didn't break eye contact with Sam.

"We can't hurt you, Harley, you know that," Sam said. I could see that he was trying hard to keep his cool. "But if you do not move, we _will_ get around you."

"I know you can't–and won't–hurt me," I said. "And I _will_ fight to protect that child." I didn't look at Paul as I said this. I had a feeling Jacob didn't want to bring up his imprint on Renesmee just yet, so I stepped up. The whole pack couldn't hurt me, simply because of Paul's imprint on me.

Sam took a couple steps toward me and I could clearly hear the deep growling erupting from his chest. He raised a hand as if he was going to push me out of the way, but then Paul stopped him.

"If you put one hand on her I'm leaving your pack," he snarled.

Sam stopped and turned to look at him. Some type of unspoken understanding passed between them and Sam turned back to me. "You're lucky he's imprinted on you, otherwise I wouldn't have even hesitated."

"Stop," Jacob growled, coming beside me. "You won't hurt Harley, and you sure as hell will _not_ hurt Renesmee. You can't hurt her."

"Why not?" Sam demanded.

"For the same reason you can't hurt Harley," he said.

Sam's eyes widened at Jacob. "You imprinted on her?"

Jacob nodded. "So you are _not_ going to hurt her and if you so much as lay a finger on her I will _not_ hesitate to rip your head off. I wouldn't take the cowardly route and go after _your_ imprint."

Sam looked absolutely _livid_.

Carlisle stepped up beside us. "Let's stop this. No one should get hurt." I was thankful for Carlisle. He seemed to instantly calm everyone down. Well, that could've also been Jasper from inside the house. "Let's make peace."

Sam hesitated. I could see it clear on his face. Some of the other guys shifted uncomfortably too, but no one else said anything.

"You're trapped, Sam," Jacob said. "Two wolves are imprinted on people from this side of the fight. If you don't make peace with them now, you're going to lose your third-in-command. You know that."

Paul looked away and out into the forest.

"The treaty is still in place," Sam finally said. "But we will be more lenient with it, as long as you agree to be as well."

"I'd rather have the treaty completely gone," Jacob muttered.

"That won't happen," Sam said. "We'll stay out of each other's way, and Bella is the last human to be turned, unless permission is granted to do so."

"Deal," Carlisle said immediately. Sam and Carlisle shook hands on it.

"Now that that's settled," Sam began. "Let's go." He turned away from us and began to walk into the forest. Most of the boys followed him, but Embry, Quil and Paul stayed behind.

"Paul!" Sam barked.

"Give me a minute!" he snapped. Paul looked pointedly at Embry and Quil and they followed Sam and the other guys into the forest.

"Come on," Carlisle said. "Let's go inside."

I wanted to go inside with them, but Paul was pleading at me with his eyes to stay. Jacob, Seth and Leah were the only ones still with us.

"Are you joining us?" Jacob asked.

"You know I can't do that, Jake," he said. "But if you guys don't mind, I'd like to talk to Harley–alone?"

"Yeah, no worries," Leah said, practically dragging Seth into the forest.

"If you ever change your mind, we're fine with having you," Jacob said to Paul before going back into the Cullen house.

We were both quiet for a few minutes after everyone had left. I sat down on the front steps of the Cullen house, and he sat beside me.

Finally, he broke the silence by saying, "Why'd you leave this morning?"

"You know why," I said quietly.

He blew all the air out of his lungs. "Yeah, I guess I do." We were quiet again before he said, "What you did back there…with Sam, it was brave of you–brave but idiotic."

I shrugged. "He wouldn't have hurt me."

"He could've," he pointed out.

"No, he couldn't have. You wouldn't have let him." I hesitated before continuing. "Thank you for that…thank you for stepping up against him."

He smiled at me. "It's my job." He cupped my face in his hand. "Are we okay now? Now that this mess is over, and there's peace between the pack and the Cullens?"

I hesitated. "I want to be okay."

"So then what's the problem?" he asked gently.

"It's complicated, you know that," I said.

"It doesn't have to be."

I looked into his eyes and then leaned against him. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him.

"We're going to be okay," he whispered.

For the first time in a long time, I was able to admit to myself that he was right and that we would actually be okay and work our way through everything.

I loved him.


	13. Chapter 13: Memories

**AN: I know in the original series the vampires don't really have any weaknesses, but I needed to add one in to make the story make sense. I know it's a cliché vampire weakness but it had to be done.**

**Chapter 13: Memories**

In the weeks that followed our lives became normal again. The wolf pack was on pretty good terms with the Cullens and Paul and I were good now. I was lounging on the couch in Paul's apartment, completely at ease while Paul prepared himself some dinner. I had "officially" moved back here just after Renesmee was born, but I still spent quite a bit of time at the Cullens' house.

I watched Paul move around the kitchen. It still was completely beyond me how someone so big could move with such grace. Once he had a plate of food ready he came over to me and sat beside me.

I was surprised at how comfortable we were together now. Just a few weeks ago we weren't even speaking to each other, and now we were fine with each other. He joined me on the couch to eat his dinner. I curled into the curve of his body and we watched a movie together. This had almost become routine between us. He was shocked that throughout my life I had barely seen any movies and was adamant that I get "caught up" as he put it. Tonight we were watching the very first Nightmare on Elm Street movie. It was super cheesy, but I enjoyed it.

Later on, while Paul was fast asleep, as I lay in bed beside him, I closed my eyes and for the first time in a long time, I thought back to my time with the Volturi.

I was walking down a street in Volterra on an overcast day, really enjoying how beautiful the city looked since it was one of the few times I could actually go out in public, but then I was grabbed from behind and pulled into an alley. I thrashed and kicked but knew it was no use as another vampire was holding onto me. I was dragged through a dark corridor and then into a white room, into an elevator which took a quick descent, through what looked like a reception area, and then finally into a large room that had three wooden thrones where three other vampires stood waiting for us.

"Ahh, Demetri, I'm glad to see you've brought our dear Harley with you," the vampire standing in the middle said. He had jet black hair, almost thin looking skin, and milky red coloured eyes. It was strange to see that his eyes were that milky colour. I had never seen eyes like that in my life. I felt like he should've been beautiful, but his skin really reminded me of an onion's skin. If our kind had blood coursing through our bodies I was sure he–and the other two vampires standing with him who had the same paper-thin skin–would constantly look like they had a flush to their cheeks. The vampire to his right had snowy white hair that matched his skin, and the one on the right had the same black hair as the one in the middle. "You may let go of her, Demetri, I don't believe she'll try to harm us."

Demetri's hands came away from my arms and I went to crouch into a defensive stance, but the vampire with the dark hair clicked his tongue.

"There will be none of that, Harley, we just want to talk." I straightened immediately. The three vampires all had the same black cloaks on, and as I caught a glimpse of Demetri, I saw that he did as well.

"Who are you people?" I asked.

"We are the Volturi," the one who had first spoken said. His tone was casual, as if he was simply showing off his new pet. "I am Aro, this is Caius." He motioned to the blond. "And this is Marcus." He motioned to the other one with black hair. "And…I see you've already met Demetri." Aro's smile was dangerous.

"How did you find me?" I asked.

He chuckled. "We could sense that a fellow vampire had landed in our great city. Though, you are quite peculiar. You don't feed on humans, I see."

I shook my head, and in a clipped voice I said, "No, I don't."

"Very, very interesting," he murmured. "What, may I ask, are you doing in our city?"

I hesitated and he noticed, so I spoke swiftly and as nonchalantly as possible. "I'm just here to enjoy the scenery. I had never been to Europe in my human life–at least, not that I can remember–so I decided to take the trip here. It really is lovely."

"I have quite a…how shall we phrase it…special power," he began to explain and my stomach clenched nervously. "I can see into the minds of anyone. Every single thought they've ever had and I can see it, just with one simple touch. May I?" He held his hand out to me and I knew that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Of course," I said, smiling widely to hide how nervous I was. I took his hand, trying to ignore how brittle it felt in mine.

His eyes widened in surprise and he let go of my hand almost immediately. "My goodness, you have a very strong power, my dear."

"I'm aware of this," I said tightly.

"To be born with such a power…" His voice had lost its casualness completely. He was now hungry. Hungry for power–_my_ power. "I have a proposition for you. Your unique talent would be very useful for our guard. Would you like to join us?"

"No thank you," I said.

"That truly is a shame," he said tightly. I noticed his jaw was set angrily and there was a dangerous fire in his eyes. Marcus and Caius leaned forward slightly, as if waiting for Aro to do something. "Harley, do you know what the one weakness of our kind is?" I shook my head and he clicked his tongue again. "You don't seem to know much about our kind. Your maker abandoned you, did he not?" I nodded. "Well, let me educate you. Our kind has one weakness–apart from our severe thirst–and that weakness is pure silver. It's quite silly, really, how we're virtually indestructible yet a simple chain of silver could cause us to fall to our knees in agony."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"We do not take refusing an offer to join our guard lightly," he said. His voice was casual again, but it had a hint of menace in it. It terrified me. "Now, we cannot kill you for it, but if you did something against our laws, we would have no choice but to execute you. Demetri, Jane, come forward." Demetri and a tiny figure stepped up to stand on either side of me. The tiny figure had pale brown hair and angelic features. She was wearing the same black robe as everyone else, but she had black leather gloves on. "Will you please take our guest downstairs? Jane, if she is causes any problems, you know what to do."

"With pleasure," she said, smiling wickedly and giving me a dangerous look.

"Where are you taking me?" I demanded of Aro.

He smiled. "Why, to the dungeons of course."

My eyes widened as Demetri grabbed me again. I tried to fight against him, but it was no use. He was older and stronger than me. I struggled against him as he dragged me through a number of corridors until finally he paused and said, "Jane, can you do something about this?"

"I thought you'd never ask," she said, almost sounding bored, but I could hear a touch of excitement in her voice. She met my eyes and smiled at me in the same way a child would gleefully smile, and suddenly I felt the burning through my entire body. Every single cell in my body was on fire. It gained intensity until I could barely feel a thing anymore.

_This is it,_ I thought. _This is the end. This is my death. Of course they'll just kill me. Did I ever even have a chance?_

But then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. The pain was gone. For the first time in my vampire life, I felt weak. I could barely walk.

"Now are you going to behave, or do I have to do it again?" she asked innocently. I nodded tightly at her and Demetri lifted me and hoisted me over his shoulder, carrying me the rest of the way. After a little more walking, I was tossed into a small room with bars around the front of it. I looked in the corner to see a narrow wooden bench, but that was really all there was to the cell. Jane closed the door of the cell and locked it. I instinctively tried to force the door open, but as soon as I touched it my hand began burning.

"Pure silver bars," she explained in that sickly sweet voice of hers. "You can try to get out, but your hands will just burn."

After they left, I paced the cell. They were holding me as a prisoner because I refused their offer. How long would they keep me here? Aro had said that if I did something against their laws they would be forced to execute me, but how could I break their laws from inside a jail cell?

It dawned on me with a sinking feeling in my gut. They knew that I only fed on animals, and he knew every thought I had ever had. He knew about every time my self-control had almost slipped in my early vampire days. He was going to starve me and then they would let me out in public. I would cause a bloodbath and their secret would be out. I could put the pieces together without even knowing a thing about them. I didn't know how long I would be in there, but I was sure that I would alright for at least a week and a half without feeding. I had just fed that morning before I entered Volterra.

Weeks later my throat was burning and I was lying on my back on the bench. I had never gone this long without feeding before. I heard footsteps nearing my cell, but I ignored them. I was used to hearing people walking by–sometimes human, sometimes vampire. Whenever a human walked by, the burning in my throat would intensify and it would almost become unbearable.

"Harley." It was Aro. I turned my head slightly to see that he had a small person with him. It was a child; he looked no older than ten years old. I didn't dare breathe–the child was human. "I have a little present for you." I still didn't say anything, so Aro unlocked the door to my cell and opened it with his gloved hands. He gently pushed the little boy into my cell and said, "In you go."

"What are you doing?" I demanded through clenched teeth.

"Just giving you a little treat," Aro said gleefully. "You know that the younger they are, the fresher the blood."

"I don't want it," I snapped.

"Touchy, touchy," he said, closing the door to my cell and locking it. "Oh and just to let you know, if you don't eat him, we will."

The little boy turned and watched as Aro walked away, then he turned his frightened eyes to me. "What's going to happen to me? Do you know what happened to my parents?" He sounded absolutely terrified. I had a pretty good idea what happened to his parents, but I wasn't going to be the one to tell him that.

"Hopefully you'll see them soon," I said quietly. I sat up and scooted into the very corner of the cell, putting as much distance between us.

"Are you going to hurt me?"

I shook my head. "I'm going to try not to. Just don't…don't talk to me so I don't have to breathe."

I figured the kid thought I was insane, but at this point I didn't care. I would not allow my thirst to get the better of me. I didn't dare breathe. I curled into the corner of my cell and held my breath. I glanced at the little boy and felt a pang of remorse. He was shaking–either from fear or from being cold–and looked absolutely terrified. Would it be better for him if I just ended it right now for him? Surely I would do it in a much more civil way than the Volturi would.

_No. _ I was _not_ going to let my thirst control me.

I didn't know how much later it was that Aro returned. It could have been hours or it could've been days. The boy and I never really spoke to each other, and he had been brought a piece of bread and a cup of water three times since he had first arrived. I saw a quick flash of anger in his eyes and his voice was stiff as he said, "I see you haven't touched your meal."

"I never intended to," I said through clenched teeth.

"Well, I guess he's mine, then," he said, smiling wickedly. He opened my cell and I almost made a run for it, but I had no idea how the decrease of blood would affect me. It felt like my mind was slipping away from me, would it be the same with my physical attributes? He reached into the cell and pulled the kid out by his collar. I looked away from Aro and the boy, but Aro cleared his throat.

"Oh no, Harley, I want you to watch."

"No," I whispered. "No, please don't." I felt absolutely pathetic for begging like that, but I had to.

Aro grinned gleefully and put his hands on the boy's neck. "It will be very quick."

The boy met my eyes, looking terrified. I quietly said, "You'll see your parents soon, okay?"

Oddly enough, understanding cleared his vision. He nodded once and closed his eyes. And then, Aro snapped his neck and I had to watch as he drained him of all his blood.

"No!" I shouted.

I felt Paul jump as he lay in bed beside me. I was sure if I was human my heart would be hammering in my chest. I could hear that Paul's heartbeat had increased as well, but I still didn't open my eyes.

"Harley, what's wrong?" he asked urgently, shaking my shoulder.

My eyes flew open and I looked around me. That had been weird to say the least. It felt like I had been right back there in Volterra, watching the little boy have his life drained out of him right before my eyes.

"Are you alright?" Paul asked, turning my face towards his and searching my eyes worriedly.

I nodded. "I'm fine, just…just remembering."

"Remembering?" he repeated.

"Remembering what the Volturi–the vampire police–did to me."

"What did they do to you?" he asked gently.

I took a deep breath. "They offered to let me join them, but I refused, so they starved me. They kept me there for months and would bring humans in to tempt me. Then finally they let me loose in the city, expecting me to cause a bloodbath, but I didn't. They've been hunting me ever since when the leader says the word."

"I won't let them get to you," he said, tightening his hold on me. "I promise I'll keep you safe, Harley. If they come back here, they will not touch you." I wanted to believe him, I truly did. But I had a terrible feeling that I'd be seeing the Volturi sooner than expected.

But for now, it was enough to be in my own little bubble with Paul and ignore the rest of the world.


End file.
